Jurassic Plastic

Those makers of injected molded magnificence Crazy Bricks are back with another marvelous lineup. This one is 65 million years in the making, Dino Dudes! Yes, fans of LEGO and dinosaurs rejoice, these spiffy dudes are ready for some prehistoric mayhem. Like previously successful offerings such as Mouse Guard and Munchkin, these are currently on Kickstarter. You can select from multiple tiers (with stretch goals already being unlocked) and the figures are spectacular, including custom molded parts and full custom printing. Head on over and support this NOW!

In Memory

Jens Nygaard Knudsen passed away. You may not recognize his name, but if you’re reading this blog you know his work. Jens was initially a designer at LEGO and quickly became Chief Designer from 1968 until 2000.  He designed early town sets and was Mr. Space having his hand in the Space lines from the Classic era up to M-Tron and what started as Sea-Tron which later became Aquanauts. Also he is credited with inventing the Minifigure! Mark Stafford posted his article (Brick Journal #6 2009) we he talks to Jens and Designer Niels Milan Pedersen on his flickr stream in memory (page 1, page 2, & page 3). The article has many pictures of concept models that Jens and Niels created. Mark will be forwarding comments on the flickr pages to Jens family and has started #NygaardMemorialFleet for anyone who wants to build a memorial spaceship.

Image from Mark Stafford’s flickr stream, original published Brick Journal #6

The Mouse Guard Returns

The wildly popular Mouse Guard from Crazybricks is making a return thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter. The good news is there’s plenty of time left to get your own awesome Mouse Guard figs, and several stretch goals have already been unlocked. Head on over to this link and get in on this!

Munchkin Bricks 2 Is Now On Kickstarter!

Those purveyors of the preposterous Crazy Bricks are back with another Munchkin themed Kickstarter, and it starts TODAY! Fans of of the game Munchkin might recognize some of the wacky artifacts in the image below, but to be specific the new lineup includes: the Helm of Super Speed, Spyke's Hammer, a Hammer Handle, a Foam Rubber Hand, Gear Beer, Shakespeare's Pike, Dragon Flagon, Hello Chibithulhu and E.L.T.H. the Excessively Large Top Hat. Not only do you get these custom injection molded parts in a selection of colors, you also some free gifts and there’s loads of stretch goals to unlock. Head over and support this campaign and get your hands on this spiffy stuff!

Shed Some Light On Hogwarts

Those mad geniuses at Brickstuff have done it again. As if LEGO 71043 Hogwarts wasn't impressive enough, now you can trick it out with another stunning lighting and sound kit from Brickstuff. And this isn’t your typical “stuff it with way too bright LEDs” kit we see so much of these days, it’s seriously high tech and incredibly well thought out. Brickstuff took over six months developing it, including the development of a whole new controller board. It’s the most advanced kit they’ve ever offered, surpassing even the stunning Millennium Falcon kit. And it’s not just a bunch of lights that turn on and off, it’s storytelling. The whole kit is designed from the ground up to bring the castle to life, not just make it visible in the dark. And once you add your own sounds to it, you will swear school is in session. The kit is so innovative Brickstuff has created it’s own website, lightmycastle.com to showcase it. The kits are available for pre-order now, but there’s a limited supply of “mega-bundles” so act fast.

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Bricks Of Character Available Now

Long about 10 years ago I attended by first LEGO convention, BrickCon. It was there I made my first AFOL friend, Iain Heath, and we’ve been buddies ever since. During that con we decided our MOCs didn’t really belong anywhere, so we commandeered a section of unused tables in the back and set up our character based pieces. It was a hit with the public and we decided it should be a thing every year, and a new category was born, Bricks of Character. We’ve both been evangelists of pop culture and character builds ever since ( you may have noticed just a few on this very website)

Well fast forward 10 years and Iain is taking his builds to the next level, and sharing the character building and pop culture experience with everyone with the release of a select few of his brilliant creations marketed under the Bricks of Character brand. Who does’t want a porg on their desk? Or a poop emoji? Well you can have the first three (and more to come!) from Amazon, get yours today!

Bricks of Character Kiss Emoji

Bricks of Character

Bricks of Character PORG

Bricks of Character

Bricks of Character Poop Emoji

Bricks of Character

Win A Saturn V!

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the moon landing. Yes, it’s been five decades since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins ventured to the Sea of Tranquility. The Museum Of Science Fiction in Washington DC is kicking off the celebration of this landmark of humankind by giving away a LEGO Saturn V, and winning could not be simpler. Just visit this site, enter your name and email address and start wishing upon the morning star.

Awesome Scale Tires For Technic

The fine folks at Pro-Line Racing are not only passionate about RC racing, they're also big into LEGO. So imagine their delight and surprise to discover that the off road tires they developed for RC also happen to fit on LEGO technic vehicles. Not only do they fit, they look amazing! Check out the video below for more details and visit them at www.prolineracing.com and for a limited time use the code PROLINEBRICK10 to save 10%.

Coraline's Pink Palace

One of the highlights of San Diego Comic Con for me was the Laika Experience. The stop motion movie studio Laika took over a space a couple blocks from the convention center in the historic Gaslamp District and converted it into a miniature version of their studio in Portland. In addition to tons of excellent displays of props, sets and figures from many of their films, they had a functioning model shop and shooting stage, with artists on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. They even had free themed ice cream when you exited. But I'm here to tell you about something at the beginning of the tour, visitors waiting in the queue got a great view of this fabulous LEGO Ideas hopeful from Laika's very own Holly Webster, Coraline's Pink Palace.

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Yes, it is generally the policy of BrickNerd not to feature LEGO Ideas campaigns unless it's very special circumstances. For instance a major stop motion movie studio displaying a set built by one of it's employees at a special venue at the craziest comic con on the planet. Holly's version of the apartments has all the charm of the original, which is easy to verify because the real set was just a few steps away.

There's even a full set of custom minifigures made with the assistance of the talented Jared Burks, featuring Coraline, Other Mother, Other Father, Bobinsky, Wybie, Coraline Doll, and the cat. The back of the house splits open to reveal a detailed interior of rooms any fan of the film will recognize instantly.

The LEGO Ideas campaign is going now, and thankfully is still early enough that it has a strong chance of making it, especially with the exposure from this past week. Head on over to LEGO Ideas to cast your vote and make this wonderful set a reality. I'd like to give a huge shout out to Holly for granting us access to not only her set, but the fascinating and awesome Laika Experience, it was unforgettable. 

The Doctor Is In

Attendees of San Diego Comic-Con (including yours truly) will get a chance to meet the 13th Doctor, at least in brick form, thanks to the building skills of my dear friend Brandon Griffith. Want to see just how one of these stunning sculptures takes shape? Check out the time lapse video.

Newsweek Celebrates LEGO

The LEGO brick is 60, and the minifigure is 40, and I'm right in the middle between them. I'm not sure what the significance of that is, but I find it interesting. It also means I was the perfect age when the Minifigure was introduced, and I've loved them ever since. And I'm not alone in that love, the world has been captivated with LEGO for over half a century, and Newsweek is celebrating that with a special edition. They were kind enough to send us a preview issue, and let me tell you, you're all in for a treat. It hits newsstands next week, be sure to pick up an issue or order it here.

BabyChan™

Tested.com's Norm & Danika announced yesterday their family is growing in the cutest, most LEGOy (and pretty nerdy) way possible with this adorable photo. Congrats Norm and Danika, you're going to make awesome parents! Oh and Ripley, you're going to be an excellent big sister.