Pipes

I'm certain that I'm not the only person who will think of the classic screen saver "Pipes" when they look at this abstract work by builder Legobird3. There's something very satisfying about this piece, it's simple, yet the intersecting pipes add a layer of complexity that draws you in. I'd much rather see these in ABS than in OpenGL.

Woodland Creatures

I was lucky enough to see these adorable award winning little guys in person at BricksLA. Builder Miro Dudas brought so much character to each of these little animals they seem ready to scamper off. They're all loaded with clever building, but my favorite detail has to be the raccoon's hands.

It's Better Down Where It's Wetter

It never fails to amaze me what a simple seed part can inspire. This magical MOC depicting the undersea world of Disney's The Little Mermaid all stems from the black fan you see on Tritan's tail. That's the seed part in this round of the ABS Builder Challenge, and that's all builder Nuju Metro needed to inspire all of this.

King Of Hearts

You don't hear much about the King of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts is of course famous from Alice in Wonderland, but the King just doesn't get much attention. Well builder Likus is here to change all that with this well crafted and badass figure. She might be yelling "off with his head" all the time, but the king here looks like he would just take care of that himself.

My First Computer: Adore Edition

No one brings the nostalgia with a subtle unique style quite like Chris McVeigh. His creations are so cleanly built and beautifully photographed you know they're his as soon as you see them. This is an update of one of his earliest computer builds, and it's awesome. Being an old school Amiga man, I have a soft spot for Commodore, and the 64 is an undisputed legend. You can build your own soon when he publishes a building guide to his website.

Deadpool Duck

I don't know why, but every time I see the name Deadpool Duck, I hear that terrible song by Rick Dees, Disco Duck. And as much as that sucks I can't help but think if this character was in a movie, that would be a pretty awesome theme song if it was done right. Meet Deadpool Duck, who recently shot to AFOL cult status and infamy after becoming one of the San Diego Comic Con exclusive figures. Now he's a fully brick-built figure thanks to builder DOGOD Brick Design.

Kali Ma!

Not long ago I told the story of camping out for Temple of Doom, and my mixed feelings on the film. This scene, with Mola Ram plucking some poor dude's heart out and dunking him in liquid hot magma, is dark, really dark. But if you use Minifigures to depict anything, it inevitably elevates the cuteness and charm, as evidenced by W. Navarre's excellent diorama here.

Even A Man Cave Needs A Sink

And if you're gonna have a sink, it should be in a nice counter right? And why not surround it with some stylish shelves and complete the look? My studio is sort of a man cave, it's at least a manchild cave, and I wish my little kitchen area was 1/10th as sophisticated as this sweet interior by builder Heksu.

FDNY Engine 273 "NY Mets"

Builder sponki25 is back with another brilliant vehicle celebrating New York's finest firefighters and the Mets baseball team. It's engine 273, a 2009 Seagrave Marauder II (2000/500) from Queens. The detailing on this is stunning, right down to the baseball bat on the front and the unbelievably meticulous pin striping.

Library

When I was a kid if you wanted to learn anything this is where you went, the library. I can vividly remember learning to write my name so I could get a library card to visit the one that was literally around the corner from my house. Of course it wasn't nearly as nice as this one from builder MaximB.

Frybot

Sure, you might think he's just some french fried potatoes in a cardboard sleeve, but you'd be wrong, it's Frybot from builder chubbybots! I have no idea what his primary function is, it might be to save us all from plain food with his twin condiment cannons, but it could also just be to look pretty awesome next to a burger. He could be part of a whole elite fast food fighting force, we just don't know.

Whitefang

Sometimes when we build a MOC we're not quite satisfied, and that's natural. As an artist I'm never quite satisfied with my work, always thinking it could be better, but you just run out of time, run out of money or run out of steam, happens every time. Occasionally we get the chance to revisit something, we take the time and update it, and that's what this fantastic space dragon is, an update. The original was splendid, but there were certain aspects that always bothered builder BobDeQuatre. Now he's taken some time to correct those, and the results are spectacular. If I had to guess there's still one or two things he'd like to perfect, but that's an artist, never satisfied.

Green Rock House

There's really no description or details about this gorgeous house from builder betweenbrickwalls, so I'm left to speculate. It's based on a real house built in 1968 from renown architect Mitchell McAlester. Built directly into the cliffs above Santa Fe New Mexico, what isn't as well known is it was built for eccentric artist Buddy Clifton, who was actually a secret agent working for an undisclosed government agency. The house actually serves as a facade to the underground bunker that extends some 300 meters into solid rock. Today it's a popular tourist attraction and exceptionally profitable Airbnb. I made all that up. But seriously, it's a fantastic build and there's plenty more pictures after the jump, including some amazing furnishings inside.

Planetary Express

Who says you need monorail to be futuristic? That being said, bring back the monorail LEGO, if for no other reason to not have to hear about it from the space guys at EVERY CONVENTION, but I digress. Check out this transportation of the future from builder TFDesigns. This baby runs on power functions and sports loads of LED lighting. I also want to point out with a little imagination, even regular train track can take on an excellent appearance.

Reflector

I deal with camera issues all the time as a photographer and videographer. But I've never had to deal with a camera that transforms into three separate characters. This is Reflector, from the Transformers cartoon, built by MortalSwordsman. It transforms into Spyglass, Viewfinder and Spectro seen below. My big question is how are they with hot pixels and flickering with sequential images?

Hot-Digity-Dog

I don't use Snapchat (and I'm not likely to start) so when I started seeing this little hotdog dude all over the place I had no idea what the heck was going on. But if you start seeing something all over social media, you can bet the wheels are turning in Ochre Jelly's head. And sure enough, here he is, a brick-built hot dog dude. Now, there's a bit of Photoshop trickery going on here, but I'm posting it anyway. All torches and pitchforks may be directed to Iain's house.

The Middle Earth "Expanded Universe"

Everyone knows The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but do you know the depths that Tolkien went to develop the history, culture and minutia of Middle Earth? His notes and thoughts were collected for years and after his death his son published these works as The Silmarillion, which Peter Jackson drew heavily on when fleshing out both of his epic trilogies. This beautiful diorama by builder jsnyder002 also drew inspiration from this book, and the results are stunning.

The Only Brew for the Brave and True Comes from the Green Dragon!

A very lovely layout by Patrick B. features the Green Dragon, from little old Hobbiton. There are round windows and round doors, the iconic architecture you would expect to see form a Hobbit dwelling. What is the most interesting technique, at least to me, is how the building truly curves around, with roof lines meeting and trying to fill gaps. That is not easy to do, yet Patrick did an excellent job. Perhaps Gandalf helped out a little? Very well done! The scene is then complete with some outside activity on the landscaping that blends very well into the building's layout.

The Epic Star Destroyer Crash

There are no words I can type to express how truly incredible this creation is to me. Simon Liu created something I did not expect to see recreated in LEGO this well, or recreated in general. Why? Well, I'm not quite sure. Apparently, Simon is simply powerful with the Force. A masterful shot featured in the latest Star Wars film, under the direction of Gareth Edwards, was two Imperial Star Destroyers smashing into each other at this interesting angle. Under the command of Admiral Raddus, a Hammerhead corvette pushed a disabled Destroyer into another, which lead to the destruction of the shield over Scarif. This is no doubt a complex scene to have done in LEGO, yet Simon indeed achieved the angles, destruction, and overall appearance so well! This has got to be my favorite model from Simon to date. Incredible!

Forestmen Jewel Heist

Storytelling is a critical part of any build, especially a scene or diorama. And when it's done as well as it is in this brilliant scene from theduggo, it's a pleasure to behold. This jewel heist being pulled off by the classic forestmen it broken down into three scenes, all connected. First is the infiltration of the castle, next is the stealthy approach, and last is the snatch, all perfectly done. This was built for Classical Bricks' Lego Castle Building Techniques Contest.