Flying Camera

What costs a lot of money, sounds like a swarm of angry hornets and really shouldn't be used near airports? Drones, or more accurately quad copters (drones implies autonomous, they aren't). I have one of these things languishing in my garage (there's only so many aerial views of my culdesac I need) but it required a lot less skill to put together than this offering by vitreolum, and it makes a lot more noise.

Welcome, To Jurassic Park

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since Jurassic Park premiered. This movie marked a pivotal moment in my life. At the time I was doing creature effects and animatronics, everything was fiberglass, rubber and servos. I had been watching the development of CGI with mild interest for years, but was never terribly impressed. This movie blew me away, and I remember saying to myself "we're finally there, time to switch to pixels". Immediately after I bought an Amiga computer and started teaching myself 3D. It's also hard to believe that BrickNerd turns five today (well, the day I registered the company, the blog doesn't officially turn five until July 1st), so it seems appropriate I should be celebrating the five year anniversary of this endeavor and admiring this sculpture by DOGOD Brick Design, two pivotal moments in my life.

After The Quake

Being a California native and living here most of my life I know quakes. We had one just a few weeks ago, I was in the studio by myself when it happened. I just looked around and admired everything swaying, then went back to work. Of course this was a small one, not like the destruction that ravaged the city in this diorama by builder ranghaal. The image here is pretty small, it's worth clicking through to check out the larger pic for all the detail.

Gothic Church

It's been a while since we've seen something by the great Legonardo Davidy, but he's back and in fine form. Just look at all the rich details and texture in this classic gothic church! It's a study in mixing grays, studs, profile bricks and brackets to achieve a look that's very mottled, but pleasing to the eye. This kind of thing is easy to get wrong, and this is a perfect example of getting it right.

Tom Bombadil

One of the controversies when Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring came out was the omission of Tom Bombadil. For some reason a large chunk of the Tolkien fans were genuinely upset he wasn't in the movie. I for one was perfectly fine with it, that chapter in the book and the character has never really done anything for me. Luckily for those T.B. fans out there builder lummerlander has crafted his likeness in the bricks, and he's every bit as flamboyant as you'd expect.

MF-07 Alcedo

With so many LEGO mechs on Flickr, it's hard to stand out, but there is a way. First you need excellent construction, that's obvious. But then you need a killer color combination, and a background that sets it off. Lastly is posing and photography, you took all that time to build an awesome mech, then you snap a picture in front of a wrinkled bedsheet with a five year old cell phone? Do you creation justice, like this beautiful mech from Moko, which hits all the points from above and then some.

The Train From Solo

Solo is less than a week away, and I'm happy to say I'm still pretty much spoiler free (don't do anything to change that). This is from the trailer, an ominous and exceptionally cool train that runs over and under the track. It looks like it's going to be an exciting scene, and has inspired M. Mipi to build this fantastic little diorama.

Under The Sea

I mostly took a day off yesterday (I say mostly because I rarely take a whole day off) and just hung out with Mrs BrickNerd. We even took a little time to build the Belle and Beast Brickheadz. And then today I see that Swan Dutchman has built two characters from one of Mrs BrickNerd's all time favorite movies, The Little Mermaid, so I just had to share. Here is Ariel and Ursula, done to perfection.

Static Displays Are So...Static

The LEGO Ideas Tron Light Cycle set is pretty nifty (even if the movie was a let down). But once you've built it the action is sorta over right? I mean they just sit there stuck to their base. Not nearly as exciting as the movie right? Well consummate tinkerer and all around mechanical wizard JK Brickworks wasn't satisfied with that, so he designed a dynamic display for his cycles, and he's shared how on his website.

Some Doggies

I will admit that the first thing that caught my eye about these wonderful little Shibas by builder ZiO Chao was the fact that they have the same color combinations of my corgis Teemo and Lulu. Then when I viewed his photostream I was delighted to see a pair of corgis that could be them! As a side note I tried to show Teemo and Lulu, but they're only interested in getting their morning walk, perhaps when we get back...

Solo Chase

Solo is a week away, and the anticipation is growing. I remain cautiously optimistic for it, and will certainly see it opening weekend. Builder Boba-1980 built this pretty impressive little scene depicted in the trailer. No idea what Han has done, where he's going, where he's coming from or why he's being chased, but it's certainly exciting.

Bickle Seagrave Fire Truck

Since humans got smart enough to build houses, we've been dumb enough to set them on fire. And going way, way back we've had groups of brave individuals willing to risk their lives to combat those fires. Eventually we built vehicles to help with the task, like this fire truck from the oldest fire apparatus manufacturer in America, Bickle Seagrave. Builder Nouvilas does this classic justice in this build.

Antique Sewing Machine

Standing still this antique sewing machine by builder _Pixeljunkie_ is charming enough, but when you see it in motion it's just magical. Generally speaking we don't feature LEGO Ideas projects here on the blog, but I fell in love with this MOC before it was launched, so I'll make an exception. Plus I've been thinking a lot about sewing recently (yeah, real men sew) so it seems appropriate.

All Aboard for Train Cars

These train cars by Tim Schwalfenberg are very different when compared to the models typically seen on his Flickr Photostream. That's no matter, however, because these train cars are brilliantly done. With the excellent chassis system, these models hardly look LEGO at all! I could see these cars on a model train layout now... I can't wait to see what other cars Tim makes, and if an entire engine is on the way...

Gotta Catch 'Em All

I've been spending a lot more time on Twitch lately, not so much under the BrickNerd persona, but as our sister site (and my latest harebrained scheme) Nerds&Makers. But of course I still love the bricks, so I've spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the brick builder's channels, including BrickinNick. So I had the opportunity to actually watch this MOC come into being over the course of a few days. It's been interesting to watch other builders, makes me want to build more. Then I remember I have a whole new website and community to build (what have I done?)

Grand Army of the Republic's Gunship

Rogue Bantha is coming in for a landing with his new midiscale model of a Low Altitude Assault Transport (or gunship). What is there to say about this build? It's absolutely fantastic, nailing every single detail of these iconic Star Wars transports. The shaping? Ace. Texturing? Perfect. Having a fleet of this particular creation would be incredible to see. I guess we will have to wait to see the builder's next midiscale model!

NBA

While I'm not a sports fan, even I instantly recognized the logo for the National Basketball Association. Having attempted similar MOCs in this style I can truly appreciate how difficult something like this is (and how few angles and curves there are in bricks) which makes me even more impressed at how closely it matches the real logo, nice work DOGOD Brick Design.

Rover

I don't know what I love more, this excellent little rover diorama from builder Tigmon74, or the fact that his title and description is "Intergalactic, Planetary... Planetary, Intergalactic. ~Beastie Boys". I don't remember a rover being in that video, but I appreciate it replacing that damn song from Godspell stuck in my head this morning. Another dimension, another dimension...

Ryder's U-Wing

Master Star Wars vehicle builder Inthert took a U-Wing and broke it. ...Not really. Creating partially damaged iconic Star Wars ships and vehicles make them look like something new all together is something I really like to see often. This more rustic, cargo-carrying U-Wing design fits in this category perfectly, and is unique on its own with its exposed parts. Still recognizable as a U-Wing, but also looking like something new on its own, this ship is a fine addition to any modified Star Wars vehicles collection. 

Spider-Man vs. Doctor Octopus

Looks like Doc Ock has a serious beef with the Daily Bugle's editorial board-Yikes!  My old pal Thorsten Bonsch has shifted gears from his Batcave series to the Marvel Universe.  There's lots to appreciate in this action packed scene; from the lettering in the floor to the curved city-scape mural on the back.  And even though things look dire for our web-slinging hero, I'm sure Spidey will ultimately save the day.  Just hopefully before the evening deadline...