"I See You've Constructed A New Lightsaber..."

I really love a minimalist build. When you can take a very small handful of parts and make something that's not only recognizable, but totally squeeable, you've got my attention. Builder Obedient Machine thrilled us last year with his 15 piece Han Solo blaster, now he's back with this little bundle of awesome, Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber from Return of the Jedi. This is just 14 carefully selected pieces, but they are way more than the sum of their parts. 

Batcave

Scale lighting is a crucial component for a properly displayed and lit large model. Especially an interior and even more so when it's cinematically inspired. This Batcave by Brent Waller is a fantastic example of scale lighting, with super dramatic results. Notice how a sense of depth and scale is accomplished by using numerous small sources of light and how there's a good balance of darkness in the image ( Batman would approve). Sometime what you don't light is just as important as what you do.

Big Daddy

Some builders just excel in a particular genre, and some own it. When it comes to large robotic figures, m_o_n_k_e_y is one of my favorite builders. His latest creation, Big Daddy, is typical of his unique style. I love the color scheme, the simulated mechanics, the clean construction and the pose-ability of this one. And those feet are particularly stompy.

Caer Caradoc

This one might ruffle a few feathers of the purists out there. No, there's no Kreo or Mega infiltrating this amazing MOC by Derfel Cadarn, but there is a little non-LEGO present. Some of the vines and creepers you see are actually fishing tackle. But it's used to such great effect and only as a subtle decoration, I'll implore the more emphatic out there to grant him a pass, this thing is gorgeous.

Mystical Shaman

At it's core this is a pretty simple Bionicle frame, but you would never guess it from the final results. This MOC by Brickthing oozes character, from it's feet to it's mask. It's loaded with detail but not overdone, making it an amazing blend of simple and complex. And just about everywhere you look is some excellent part usage.

Gold Dust

Is there anything that gets the blood pumping quite like a sweet hot rod? OK, maybe Zach Galifiikis in a g-string is your thing, or perhaps Flo from the Progressive commercials? Whatever, I like a cool hot rod, and this MOC from Biczzz is a cool hotrod. I love the broken line to hike the back end up and make the stance more aggressive, and that engine is awesome. And all of it is beautifully photographed, this is the total package.

Obama Is A LEGO Fan!

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, as unveiled at BrickCon 2014, iron clad evidence that Iain Heath is a genius.

"Tree? I Am No Tree"

When I first looked at the parts selection for LEGO Star Wars 10236 Ewok Village I thought "you could build a pretty big tree with this". But when builder JK Brickworks saw the selection he thought he could build a pretty big Ent with it, and did just that. This is an alternate model for the set, and it's pretty impressive. The face is a little goofy for my taste, but overall it's pretty awesome. There's also a video, LDD model and instructions on his website, check it out!

Apple Tree

I always enjoy seeing what a really good builder can accomplish with standard parts and strait forward connections. This apple tree by retinence is build entirely studs up and with nothing more complicated than plate, bricks and slopes. It's likely a bit fragile, but you can say that about most brick-built trees. 

Detective D. Spy

Surveillance is everywhere these days (which makes shoplifting even more baffling to me) and has apparently made it's way to the insect world. Yes, you mischievous little woodland creatures and swamp dwellers, you are being watched because this camera-toting dragonfly by Brickthing is on the job. I really love all the detail on this fragile MOC, especially the hands for spines and Mandalorian helmets for eyes.

Elysium

For Rent:

Lovely levitation property in the blue sky district. Live in the lap of luxury in the clouds in this exclusive, fully equipped for an active lifestyle. In addition to the full-featured two story home the property can also lift it's own stores and materials with a permanently mounted crane and maintain global positioning through a twin thruster system. Keep the sky pirates at bay with the automated defense system.

Available in mid December. For more details contact clmntin.E

Live From The Jellydome!

BrickCon is over, but I'm spending some extra time in Seattle with the great Iain Heath. We and a few other AFOLs are going to do a LiveBuild from Iain's house, the Jellydome, starting at 5pm PST tonight!

Join us as we build...something (we're deciding what to build now)

Mouse Guard

Attendees of BrickCon 2014, including myself, got to see this amazing and beautiful MOC from four-time best in show winner Paul Hetherington. While it's not on the scale of some of his previous winners (he really referred to it as a "small" MOC) it is still pretty grand. But scale means nothing to me generally, what this MOC has is charm and personality. It's perfectly proportioned with excellent color and top notch technique. A well deserved win Paul.

In Space No One Can Hear You Stick

The space madness that is SHIPtember may be over, but beautiful craft continue to be revealed. This epic cruiser by builder VolumeX not only spans 137 by 62 studs, but boasts a truly staggering number of stickers: 438. It would be incredibly easy, especially when dealing with those kind of numbers, to overdo it on so many levels. But that's not the case here, this vessel is stunning front to back and top to bottom.

"Dead Or Alive, You're Coming With Me"

Not only am I so ancient that I saw RoboCop in the theater, I was lucky enough to catch a preview screening (and I hadn't even heard of it, ah the days before internet). Needless to say we were blown away by the Verhoeven classic. This MOC by paddybricksplitter is faithful to Rob Bottin's design, but adds an almost chibi charm to him. Great pose-ability too, makes you just want to grab him like an action figure.

Kaboom

This MOC by BMW_Indy is one after my heart. Not so much for the nuclear explosion (but really, who doesn't appreciate a super big bang?) but for all the gear depicted. My late father-in-law was a government camera guy. He was in charge of shooting space launches for the 30th Space Wing and dealt with all this gear. And of course my connection to the motion picture industry and being a camera gear nerd is no secret. The attention to detail and accuracy here is splendid. I love the "behind the scenes" feel of this, and the humor. This just might be the best thing I've seen in weeks.

"There Was Nothing You Could Have Done Luke Had You Been There..."

I love a MOC picture that makes me look twice. This one by markus19840420 is so carefully reconstructed from the pivotal scene in Star Wars that it almost looks like a still from the movie as a thumbnail. I especially love the sandcrawler, which is built with a great care to look like scene in the movie. And Threepio's silver right leg, nice touch.

Thanks for the head's up Vince

Mustafar

Just last night some colleagues of mine were discussing the shared disappointment in the Star Wars prequels. Then I see this absolutely phenomenal MOC by migalart this morning and I have to question my loathing for them. I have to admit do like some of the vehicles, locations and characters from episodes 1-3, but I probably wouldn't have counted Mustafar among them. But I find myself wanting to watch Obi-Wan and Anakin's epic duel once more. The lava work on this is hands down the best I've ever seen, and the whole thing is on a scale that's hard to believe. Click through for more pics including one for scale.

Special BrickCon Issue Of BrickJournal!

Excitement is growing here in Seattle as the first day of BrickCon kicks off. And what better way to get going than to reflect on the past and present of the convention with a special edition of BrickJournal? And wouldn't it be great if it was free? Well, the fine folks at Twomorrows and Joe Meno are doing just that. For the next two weeks you can download this special issue and see just what all this madness is about. 

Be careful around page 28, there's some surly characters and disturbing images, just sayin'

Tinkling The Teeny Tiny Ivories

I don't know the whole story about this MOC, but it has some history. Scrolling back through builder edguy20's photostream I can see it was actually produced as a very limited run, and frankly amazing, custom kit. This presentation of an already stunning MOC takes it to the next level.