Tortooga

I know what you are all thinking, this isn’t from Pirates of the Caribbean?!? No, it’s not, and as the kids say these days you got click-baited. I’m kidding! Tortooga is actually the name Klikstyle gave to this wonderful little turtle from a fantasy world. Although part of me is thinking about how adorable it is, there’s always that other part of me that wonders what it tastes like. But I’m sure with sharp spines and a shell like that it’s safe from my flimsy hands, for now.

Veggiesaurus

We all know you have to eat your veggies if you want to grow up big and strong, it’s just too bad there’s nothing in that old saying about proper arm length or a natural immunity to large meteors. But please don’t mention that to this dino by Greeble_Scum, he seems to really be enjoying his greens. Besides, just because he doesn’t eat meat doesn’t mean he won’t bite it.

The Library From Beauty And The Beast

BrickCon 2019 is over, and I had a blast. Among the many notable events this year were: My wife came with me (her first BrickCon), I walked just about 20 miles over the four days, I was given a Nerdly 10-Doh (thanks Mike!) and I was co-coordinator for the Pop Culture theme (with the great Brandon Griffith). Of course there were a great number of fantastic MOCs in our theme, but this incredible library from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by builder ssential was a stand out. So much so that me and Brandon awarded it “Best Picture”, and I’m pleased to announce it went on to earn “Best in Show” for BrickCon 2019. Sarah meticulously documented its construction, posting loads of pictures on Flickr, click through to see how this stunning build was accomplished.

Aegis

If you didn’t know BrickCon is going on right now in Seattle WA and I’m there. This means I get to see loads of really cool builds in person and even better I get to meet (or be reunited with) the builders behind them. Yesterday I was thrilled to see this beast with my own eyeballs and chat with its builder Rphilo004. While the pictures are awesome, nothing compares to standing in front of it and gawking.

Jack's House

Tim Burton’s design for The Nightmare Before Christmas is as iconic as the film itself. Everywhere you look in the film there’s things so wonderfully off kilter they defy logic but draw you in. It’s so charming your brain just automatically forgives any gap in reality. Builder monstrophonic captures this aesthetic perfectly with this rendition of Jack Skellington’s house, and the same rules apply here.

Behind The Scenes Of Empire Strikes Back

When Star Wars came out in 1977 I was 9 years old, the perfect age to be warped for life. I can remember scouring every issue of Starlog, Cinefex, Cinefatastiqe and every other magazine and book I could find. Images like this scene, brilliantly recreated by Konrad Aksinowicz fueled my imagination and ignited my passion for visual effects and filmmaking. The creative geniuses at ILM have always been heroes of mine, and paved the way for me and entire generation of anonymous craftspeople making movie magic behind the scenes.

The One That Started It All

I vividly remember when the Gameboy came out. I was working on The Boneyard in North Carolina and saw a segment on TV promoting it. The next day I went to Wal-Mart (the first I’d ever been to) and bought two, one for me and one for my girlfriend. I then proceeded to play it non-stop for years. It was truly a game changer (pun intended) and I’m proud to say I still have them 30 years later, not that they’re totally functional. I still have my girlfriend too, only now I call her my wife. Thanks for the warm fuzzy nostalgia Cha Mi.

Dragon Combiner Mech

The French Bricks Junky has come up with a new spin on a familiar theme. Similar to the Mega Mechs we all know and love from Saturday morning cartoons way back when, and of course the official Voltron set I reviewed a while back, this combiner consists of Chinese dragons. Each one is occupied by a minifig pilot, and the entire rig is decidedly more posable than Voltron. I appreciate the intricate details put into this, too; horns, moustaches and the like. You can watch it in action in the video. Okay, now let’s see a battle!!

Mickey And The Roadster Racers

Everyone knows what a Disney fan I am, so naturally this brilliant little pair of cars from Ianying616 caught my eye. While I’ve never seen the show they’re based on (what do you want? There’s no young children at my house these days), I can see right away that a lot of care went into recreating these. I just want to zoom zoom them.

Spring-Heeled Jack

I love how much I learn because of this blog. I had never heard of Spring-Heeled Jack, or at least I was unfamiliar with him but the name rang a bell. This intrigued me and I have been distracted for a little while now reading about his history. I’d say it’s about time for a modern feature film with this chap, thanks for the newfound knowledge Paddy Bricksplitter!

Cha-Cha & Hazel

If you haven’t seen The Umbrella Academy you need to, it’s imaginative, out there and compelling. When described it’s really difficult to not sound insane. Like the talking patriarchal chimp, the dead “brother”, the time travel, it’s all pretty nuts. Like these two mask wearing, time traveling assassins, Cha-Cha and Hazel by builder Legopard (it makes more sense if you just watch the show).

Arggg!

I almost scrolled right past this based on it’s thumbnail, that’s a testament of the awesomeness of this build by Miro78. If it wasn’t for that slight tilt of his head I might have overlooked this. Celebrating LEGO Pirates’ 30th anniversary, Miro built this perfectly proportioned Captain Redbeard and his trusty parrot guarding his treasure. I’ve always had a soft spot for LEGO Pirates, it’s the theme that brought me out of my involuntary dim age.

CADA Porsche 919 Hybrid Test Car

I’m not a fast driver, never have been. I’ve had one speeding ticket all my life and that’s not because I enjoy the sensation of speed, it’s because I was late for dinner and I’m afraid of my wife. So I cannot fathom driving this beast by builder NikolayFX. Then again, there’s only a handful of drivers in the world Porsche would trust behind the wheel, and I’m not one of them.

Super Star Destroyer

The moment I laid eyes on this magnificent Super Star Destroyer by Fabrice Neaud I heard the Imperial March in my head and I was ready to swear allegiance to the Empire. It’s not the scale that impresses me (to be honest, scale rarely impresses me, but this thing is enormous) it’s the accuracy and the attention to detail. This picture does not do it justice, you really need to click though and look at the pics at high res to truly appreciate this beast.

Viva La Mexico

I’m from California, which used to be a Mexican territory, and its cultural influence is everywhere here. From the architecture to the food, its roots run deep and I love it. So I’m instantly drawn to this excellent build by Norton74. Just looking at it has me craving tacos (and not whatever it is that Taco Bell serves, I’m talking REAL tacos) and some proper mariachi. I’ll make the guacamole, you bring the margaritas.