Lumiére

Humans have always been captivated by fire, from our very early days it has been a central feature of our lives. It cooks our food, it keeps us warm and it wards off danger. Of course we think we've mastered this element, but that is only by the good grace of Lumiére, the goddess of fire, depicted here by builder Pate-keetongu. So next time you turn that dial of the stove top or click that lighter, remind yourself to be thankful.

The Battle of Maerwynn Creek

What is it with humans? We've been squabbling over everything for as long as we've been walking upright (and probably before). We're just not wired for cooperation or coexistence it seems, or maybe not. It's kinda ironic that this depiction of man's tendency to bonk each other on the head and not work together is the product of two builders collaborating. Nice work SirWilsonBricks and The Maestro, you give me hope in humanity.

World Map

When faced with what to put on the wall of his living room, builder Dirkb86 (with the encouragement of his wife) decided on a world map. And not just any world map, but this majestic relief map of our tiny blue marble. These few pictures really don't do the project justice, you can see tons more pictures and read the story of it's creation over on MOCpages.

Evening in the Living Room

Heikki M. has created another stunning interior that you might see featured on one of those high-end HGTV shows.  But what's interesting, beyond all the stylish designs and artistic details, of course, is the fact that we've got a little forced perspective built into the scene.  The fireplace in the foreground is actually out of proportion to the furniture and the TV to create the illusion of a much larger room.  Pretty crafty, there, Heikki! 

Doc Brown's Time Traveling Train

Who can forget the moment Doc Brown and his beloved Clara appeared in this stunning steampunk time traveling train at the end of Back to the Future III? And of course the absolutely mind-blowing surprise of when it lifted off and flew away (uh, spoilers I guess?). It's a movie vehicle classic, and this version by Mister Bricks does it justice. For a detailed breakdown check out the video from our pals at Beyond the Brick.

Ascension of the Flood

M.C. Escher has always been one of my favorite artists. AFOLs have been recreating his work for a long time, but I don't think I've ever seen a motorized Escher MOC until now: Jarren Harkema has assembled a beautiful display inspired by Escher's Waterfall which must look remarkable in person. You can see it in motion in this video.

Granny Weatherwax & Nanny Ogg

Builder Pate-keetongu is back with some more characters from his ever-expanding cast of characters from the venerable Discworld. This time around it's Granny Weatherwax & Nanny Ogg, and of course I still haven't read the books yet so I have no idea who they are. But as every character is added to his collection, I become more and more fascinated and curious.

Chibi Air Superiority

This is a fun little forced perspective and chibi vignette by builder Klikstyle. It featured the last biplane to see official use by the US Navy, the Grumman F3. And while I say chibi, the F3F-2 has the distinction of actually being pretty chibi in real life, with it's squat fuselage, tucked in landing gear it's got cartoony but endearing proportions, earning it the nickname "beer barrel".

Eats Yer Spinach

Growing up in the 70's meant Saturday morning was king. When you only have 3-4 channels, there was pretty much never anything for kids on, until Saturday morning. From 5am to about 11am it was nothing but kid's stuff, and we were glued to the TV. Classic WB toons, Tom & Jerry, HR Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, we couldn't get enough of it. Then the Saturday film festival would come on (please be Godzilla, please be Godzilla...) but before the movie it was usually Popeye cartoons. So when I see this brilliant character build of everyone's favorite spinach eating sailor, I'm 8 years old, wearing my Planet of the Apes pajamas and polishing off a box of frosted flakes. Thanks for a dose of nostalgia lummerlander.

Fear The Frumblegogg

I don't know what's more mind boggling or impressive about this latest MOC from Djokson, the crazy clever construction or the fact that it's balancing on it's little tail like that. The Frumblegogg looks like he would be equal parts fascination and nightmare fuel, that is, if he doesn't exist...

Brick Bride

I won't claim to totally understand this creation by builder LegoWyrm. It draws inspiration from multiple sources, but when I started researching it I could see the rabbit hole was pretty deep, and I need to make breakfast. But I've always said you don't need to understand art to appreciate it, it just has to move you. And I find this to be charming and compelling. The big question is did she say "I do"?

Skull Knight

Is it still Hero Factory if you build villains out of it? Builder chubbybots breaks out the Hero Factory, Knights Kingdom and Bionicle parts and created this badass character. He looks like something out of a video game, the kind of character that makes your heart sink and your palms sweat when they show up.

Rori Dulgisson, Thane from Karak Zorn

Dwalin Forkbeard is clearly a fan of dwarfs and Warhammer Fantasy Battles Universe.  It took him two months to create this stunning figure, his first attempt at something in this scale.  Dwalin knew that to get the details and curves he envisioned for the piece, he would need to go larger.  So at about two feet tall, Rori here is almost life-size.  And with that rune inscribed hammer, I don't think anybody's going to try and toss this Dwarf...

Chibi AT-ACT

Drawing inspiration from MacLane's now classic chibi AT-AT, builder zachmoe decided to build an AT-ACT for a little adorable Scarif stomp stomp action. It's really hard to run away or draw your weapon when you're having a total squee moment and going "awww". The First Order should consider this as part of their design plan, it just might work.

Safety Protocols Disabled

To celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of Star Trek The Next Generation (gawd I'm old, I was in high school when it premiered) TBB's own Ochre Jelly decided to take us to the holodeck, where things never went horribly wrong. Like that time that infamous character builder got trapped in there and his doppleganger got out and started building with minifigs (yeah, pretty far fetched).

Haw Pha Bang

I will admit I had never heard of this temple before this morning, but after seeing this jaw-dropping build by EugeneTTs I had to do a little research. The real building in Laos is stunning, and after seeing it I have even more appreciation for the attention to detail and accuracy of this model. Both are absolutely beautiful.

Coyote Tango

I remember when I was discovering that I was not alone in my adult LEGO fandom one of the first creations that sorta blew my mind was an elaborate mech. I'm sure if I want back and found that exact model it would be pretty tame by today's standards, but it was still my first "wait, that's LEGO?" moment. I'm sure if I had seen this stunning mech by LEGO 7 I would have just kept scrolling, because it wouldn't have even registered as brick built from a thumbnail.

El Camino

It takes one flip through a Sears Wishbook or a rerun of the Gong Show to remind yourself just how unattractive the 70's were. Things like avocado appliances and bellbottoms not only existed, they were popular. It is in this environment that things like wood paneling, orange on brown paint paint schemes and the shag dashboard were allowed to happen. So for LUGNuts' latest challenge "cult following", builder Lino M had to audacity to built an El Camino, with an orange on brown paint job...and it's friggin' awesome. It defies all logic, but he pulled it off.

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.