Gargamel

I know nearly nothing about the Smurfs. I was too old to care about them when they burst onto the American saturday morning cartoon scene in 1981. Interestingly enough, builder Deathly Halliwell also doesn't know much about them either according to his description of this stunning MOC of the main bad guy Gargamel. Lucky for us you don't have to be a Smurf fan to enjoy this marvelous sculpture.

Phonograph

While I'm not so old that I remember these devices being used, they did use records, which I do remember. In fact I still have some of the ones from my youth. And and I can't help but smile thinking about putting Herbie Hancock on this classic phonograph by bricks.life.idea. 

Rancor Appetizer

It's so good to see a fantastic builder find that spark again. I just blogged Bill Vollbrecht yesterday, but this is so cool I just have to share (plus it's from Star Wars, what kind of nerd would I be if I overlooked it?) This Gamorrean Pig Guard is classic, studs up figure construction at it's finest, and I totally dig it.

Oni

So I'm scrolling through Flickr this morning like I do every day, and I see this phenomenal MOC by Deathly Halliwell. It's on par with pretty much everything from this very talented builder. Then I read the description and find out this was built in ONE DAY, nine hours in fact! I'm gobsmacked.

Death

Builder Deathly Halliwell is back with another brilliant character from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Death. Death is one of the seven Endless, and with three of them already built, I'm starting to suspect that Deathly Halliwell is the secret eighth Endless, we'll call him Deviceful.

Metropolis

Builder LoctiteGirl brings her usual flair for the unusual and stunning visual with this piece called Metropolis. The lighting is an especially cool element on this, as is the scale. I can tell by looking at these photos that this is one of those situations where pictures do not do it justice. But I don't think I'll be getting to Korea to see this in person any time soon. Sad face.

Who Who Who

I am irresistibly drawn to the simplicity and form of this image by mihaimariusmihu. As a MOC, it's deceptive in it's complexity, since overall it is mostly silhouetted and doesn't have much surface details. But look at all those converging shapes and angles, this is no small feat. The balance of the image is fantastic too,. While our subject is nearly dead center of frame (a photographic no no) the branches occupy an asymmetric and interesting composition, offering an excellent use of positive and negative space. Also, I'm craving a Tootsie Pop.

Heritage

The forms and construction of this bison and rider from legoalbert are fantastic, giving it a great texture and interesting subtle contrast. To my knowledge native Americans never rode bison (assuming this is an American bison), but this makes for a beautiful and striking image.

Inside The Mind Of A LEGO Artist

Have you ever pondered what goes on inside the mind of a LEGO artist? Builder Kristal Dubois has and here is a visualization, in the form of a kinetic sculpture. The picture only tells part of the story, watch the video for a wonderful demonstration of this fantastic MOC. As a side note, you really don't want to know what goes on inside my mind, but for the record it has Powerhouse playing as the soundtrack.

The Beards Of Old

When seeking wisdom, dwarves sometimes visit the statues of their elders. When I'm seeking wisdom, I visit Wikipedia. One of these seems more noble than the other. Builder Legonardo Davidy has taken stone beards to the next level with this MOC. Just look at that sculpting!

Komodo

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, and to far off islands with mystical creatures. This quadruped dragon by Archinto shows just how advanced you can get with some serious Bionicle chops. The detail, contouring, pose and coloration on this MOC is top notch.

Steamy Owl

Hoot! This steam powered mechanical owl by vitreolum looks ready for flight, or at least ready to dispense lollipop consumption tips (brownie points to whoever gets that).  He kinda reminds me of Bubo, from the eighties classic (albeit, pretty terrible) Clash of the Titans. 

The Monkey King

I love it when I'm scrolling through my Flickr feed and a MOC comes up that just makes me inhale exaggeratedly with raised brows and bulging eyes (did I sufficiently paint that picture?) This one just did that. From builder The Deathly Halliwell comes the Monkey King, and it's a total work of art. There's so many things I love about this I don't know where to start, so I'll just continue to stare and invite you to do the same.

It's Not A Bear

Some fun Koala facts:

• Koalas are not bears, they are marsupials.
• The don't necessarily need to drink, they get their hydration from leaves.
• They often sleep 18-20 hours a day.
• When build in LEGO by Bruce Lowell, they are particularly adorable

Horned Owl

Look at this owl...look deep into it's eyes...keep looking...

You are under it's power...

Give a hoot, don't pollute.

Shadowfax - LEGO Kinetic Horse Sculpture

Every once in a while a MOC comes along that just leaves you in awe, this one does just that for me. Standing still it has dynamism and grace, but watch the video and prepare to have your mind blown. Incredible work by JK Brickworks.

Sweet!

A hallmark of a really great MOC is when you can make a member of the general public go "wow, that's LEGO?" A Hallmark of an incredible MOC is when you can get me to go "holy crap, that's LEGO?" Mike Doyle has revealed the cover of his upcoming sequel to Beautiful LEGO, and it's absolutely, positively jaw-dropping.

Leafeon! I Choose You!

Retinence is back with another beautiful and masterful Pokemon MOC. This time it's Leafeon, who certainly looks pretty, but is kinda useless in a fight. I mean c'mon, chlorophyl? What good is that? And after spending all that time raising and evolving Eevee! I'm going back to the gym, I see you guys later.

Green Dragon

Deathly Halliwell is back with another stellar bust, this time it's a green dragon. This works very well as an overall sculpture, the pose and weight distribution is excellent. I also really like the expression, the lowered brow and slit eyes give it a really menacing look.

Super Robot

I'm guessing most of my readers are not old enough to remember robot toys like this one. Thankfully so am I (but mike no mistake, I'm OLD). But I do see them from time to time on display and this version of Horikawa's Super Robot by yo3l is pretty much perfect.