Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick...

So many metaphors pop in my head. The deadline for BrickJournal looming, my lack of preparation for Nerdvember, the current political climate of the US, or the world for that matter. You can look at this and see all the things that are making it less easy to sleep at night…or you can see it as a cleverly arranged collection of children’s play things. I’ll look at it that way, as an amusing MOC by builder nobu_tary.

Hurricane Aftermath in Bricks

Hurricanes and Cyclones are downright scary.  I lived in Florida when Tropical Storm Fay came through, that was pretty minor with lots of flooding.   I moved north to Philadelphia to escape the tropical storms (and for other reasons), and was in the area when Sandy 2012 and Irene 2011 roared through.  While where I was at saw little damage, a few downed trees, power outages and such both those systems did tremendous damage.  Despite being fairly low on the Category number.  Also the damage wrought by Florence and Michael recently is quite amazing.  Nathan C MOCS really brings the damage home in brick for with this amazing educational MOC depicting what Hurricane Maria did last year to the Island of Puerto Rico.  He experienced the storm first hand.  In this build he has a number of moving elements that illustrates the forces hitting a house in Puerto Rico, the video of is here.  I encourage you to spend some quiet time watching the video and examining all the notes that Nathan C MOCS has left on the image below in Flickr.  This is a MOC that will challenge you, maybe scare you, definitely not one that gives happy feelings.  The destruction is captured very well, it is a beautiful build in a devastating way.   

Mr. Jack O'Lantern

♫ It’s the most spookiest time of the year
There’ll be creepers a creepin’
And everyone telling you there’s much to fear
It’s the most spookiest time of the year 𝄇

A wonderfully chilling character by builder The Chosen One.

Daedalus

Is it weird that when I see a really cool ship like this my first thought is to imagine it mounted to a pylon in front of a green screen with a big motion control rig swooping a camera past it, then the shot that would result from that motion control pass? This is the Daedalus, by builder Rat Dude, and I want to see it in a movie! The detailing is exquisite, with a perfect blend of large and small detail to convey the scale, and just enough studs to let you know it’s LEGO.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Tonight! Tommy works on his Nerdly. ElBarto watches it snow. And Firas Abu-Jaber builds a car. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he’s back with a LEGO version of this deadly rear-engined super-car! So, you ask, what’s the deal with all those numbers and letters? And more letters? Some say each extra letter adds about twenty grand to the price tag. But that would be over simplifying the subtle yet dramatic differences within the 911 family. Therefore, creating a LEGO version that’s immediately recognizable- How hard can it be? I think we all know the answer to that… Nicely done, Firas!

The Black Seas Barracuda

Just yesterday I was wondering when and if we’d see this ship from builder vitreolum, ask and ye shall receive eh? This is the ship that rescued me from my reluctant dim age, and it is forever dear to my heart. It was also pivotal to the purchase of my house, as it was part of the collection I sold when we purchased it. No, I have no regrets, I love this house and I’m grateful for it.

Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates...

…You never know what you’re gonna get. Builder SuckMyBrick is back with a tribute to a Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis classic, the quirky but brilliant Forrest Gump. Fun fact, before switching to the wine industry Mrs BrickNerd worked for See’s Candies for years. She could identify every single piece by appearance alone. So much for that little colloquialism.

Brite Bag

Fans of Fortnite should recognize this, it’s Brite Bomber’s bag, the Brite Bag! Builder and Twitch streamer BrickinNick has been crafting a full Brite Bomber cosplay which he’ll be sporting this weekend at TwitchCon.

Micro Imperial Outpost

I will always have a soft spot for classic pirates. When I was old enough to finally have some “disposable” income they were new on the market, and I bought a lot of them, emerging from my reluctant dim age. Builder vitreolum is clearly also a fan, this wonderful micro version of 6248 is actually part of a growing series. When will we see my personal favorite, a Black Seas Barracuda?

Grata of Kontrabontembi

Layered costumes are difficult in real life, not to mention in LEGO elements, but builder Pate-keetongu pulls it off with his usual flair with this lovely creation from his imagination. Grata is a senior exchange student of Kontrabontembi monastery for wizard monks according to Eero’s webpage, and if she’s this impressive as a student, imagine when she’s a full fledged practicer of magic.

Wolverine Vs Sentinels

You ever feel like the odds are stacked against you? You know, like when you’re late for a meeting and every light is red? Or when you’re going to pick up a rotisserie chicken at 6PM? Or you buy a MegaMillions ticket when it passes $1 BILLION? Or when you’re a metallically enhanced superhuman with regenerative properties facing down three giant robots bent on your destruction, like the one here depicted by I Scream Clone? Yeah, like that.

Awooooooooo!

As halloween approaches it’s time for things to get a little spooky. Builder chubbybots thinks so too and created this wonderful werewolf. And as I’m typing this my dogs are begging for biscuits behind me, which got me wondering, what do you suppose a werecorgi would look like? I mean, why does it have to be a wolf? I can assure you corgis can be pretty fierce too, just way more adorable when they’re doing it.

The Main Man Up North

As the end of the year quickly approaches I hope you’ve all been good boys and girls, because Santa is coming. Right about now he’s checking lists and the elves are working overtime to get everything ready. You know who’s not getting coal in his stocking? Builder bauer585 that’s who. Check out this little tribute the the man in red here, a warm, cozy little setting with everyone’s favorite gift being delivered inside a gift.

Rotten Pumpkin

Fall is here. I know this by the subtle clues that have been left for me, like falling leaves, Halloween stuff in every store, and pumpkin spice everything at every turn. While I’ll happily pass on pumpkin spice marshmallows thank you very much, I do have to say I dig this imaginative and whimsical biplane from builder Markus "madstopper78" Ronge. It’s part of his larger epic fantasy world Full Steam, which it getting so much more intricate and expansive that soon I’m sure we’ll all remember watching episodes and arguing about whether or not it’s real.

Dilbert

Back when the daily arrival of a newspaper was commonplace, the comics section was one of the most popular. Headline, sports, funny-pages. That’s when people would actually start reading. And in 1989, Dilbert and the megalomaniacal Dogbert arrived on the scene. The sarcasm surrounding office politics, micromanagement, and new technology really struck a chord. As did these guys when I saw them, by builder grubaluk. I wonder what kind of scheme Dogbert is hatching today?

TARDIS Kinetic Sculpture

Artist, builder, mechanical wizard and Whovian Josh DaVid LEGO Creations is back with another kinetic wonder. This time it’s the iconic TARDIS from Doctor Who. Check out the video to see it in action, and remind yourself that it’s bigger on the inside, and we assume shields the occupants from centrifugal forces.

Leading A Ragtag Fugitive Fleet

Check out the latest from Brandon Griffith! The Galactica here is built from over 29K bricks, is 47” long, has custom printed bricks, custom lighting and took over 300 hours to build. I had the distinct honor of lighting and photographing this baby late last month and it’s a wonder to behold in person. Brandon and I spent several happy hours and used practically every light in the studio. It was like living in the pictures from Apogee I stared at for hours as a kid. It took great restraint to not break out the green screen and motion control equipment and get some spectacular space shots, but our time was limited. Click through for many more pics of this sci-fi legend.

A Man Of Much Beard

Hans Langseth was a man of much beard, record breaking beard, like the longest ever beard. And while that is pretty impressive, capturing his likeness in bricks as Pate keetongu has done is pretty impressive too. Of course it didn’t take nearly as long, but took more skill than allowing hair to grow. Then again, building it was probably less work than showing with that much beard.

Samurai Jack

Millennials should recognize this guy, it’s Samurai Jack! Back when Cartoon Network had had enough of replaying old cartoons and started making their own content, and it was glorious. The likes of Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls and my personal favorite Johnny Bravo paved the way for this breakout hit. Builder madoruk was clearly a fan, and celebrates the show with this amazing MOC.

One, Two, Threeeeeeee!

This charming little memory MOC gives me mixed feelings I’m afraid, a mix of nostalgia and cringe, so this post is going to serve as a public service message. All parents end up playing this game with their kids, human swing. I can vividly remember the last time I did it, with my youngest son. We were exiting Toys R Us and doing this when suddenly he was much less enthusiastic. By the time we got to the van we could tell something was very wrong. We took him to an urgent care center a few blocks away, where a nice doctor fixed his DISLOCATED ELBOW! Happy to say he made a nearly instant recovery, but you can bet we never played that game again. This is actually a pretty common injury with children, and it’s usually from something like this. Take care all you parents out there.