Wall•E!

I'm super excited about the LEGO Ideas Wall•E set. It's a favorite Pixar character of mine, it's designed by my friend Angus MacLane and a completely awesome model. Well, my pals at The Brothers Brick managed to get their grubby little paws on one (don't ask me how, I don't know the details but I understand lemur sacrifice might have played a role) and have an exclusive review of it! Click through for your first peek at this amazing new model.

Smeeeee!

I was supposed to be at Disneyland this weekend, but I'm not (very sad face). But if I were, we'd be waiting not-so-patiently for the fireworks. I the mean time I'm sure we'd get a Dole whip, probably ride Pirates and Mansion, and maybe if the crowds aren't bad wait in line for Peter Pan. And of course we'd get to see Captain Hook and Tick Tock in their eternal struggle. Luckily i've got this fabulous MOC by 'rolli to give me just a little dose of Disney magic.

Captain Hook

Brickstuff Coming To The UK And Europe

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Scotland based Curious Minds has become the sole European and UK retailer for US based Brickstuff. This is great news for all my friends and fellow LEGO enthusiasts across the pond. I'm a huge fan of Brickstuff and it's founder Rob Klingberg. I've used their lighting products in every stop-motion short I've produced and will continue to do so.

Visit Curious Minds' website for more information and get your lighting on!

Star Wars: A New Hip

I'm old. I'm really old. But at least I still have vivid memories of seeing Star Wars in the theater (like every weekend for a year, plus many viewings during the summer, lost count). But the inevitable march of time means that everyone and everything involved in my favorite movie of all time is also aging. And Han & Leia are no exception as imagined by Pepa Quin.

Star Wars: A New Hip

The Circle Is Now Complete

I love this, for a few reasons actually. First of course it's Star Wars original trilogy, so that's pretty much an automatic. Second, I can appreciate how difficult it was to do, lighting and photographing a super dark set with dark figures is really hard. And lastly, it's just a damn good shot, great lighting, great editing and great composition. Nicely done Andrew JN!

Your Powers are Weak Old Man

Back To School

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, even at the end of summer. This MOCstalgia is inspired by Mrs BrickNerd, with the suggestion of "back to school". It's funny how at the end of the school year both parents and students are really ready for summer. I think we're just ready to not struggle to wake kids, make lunches and deal with homework (and kids just don't want to be at school). But as welcome as that first day of summer is, it's not terribly long until glances at the calendar get far more frequent with groans of "I'm bored" and parent's patience with endless video game play wears thin. So to celebrate the return to school I present to you this classic by Polywen, Pack up kids, and get out of the damn house.

September Minibuild Contest Entry

Review - The Art Of LEGO Scale Modeling

Review - The Art Of LEGO Scale Modeling

There are many genres and themes that AFOLs build. Some people build castle, some build space. You may find that characters or dioramas are your thing. But there's a coupe of builders that specialize in making things big, detailed and most of all accurate to the real world counterparts. This is the realm of LEGO scale modeling. And now there's a book from No Starch Press to highlight these magnificent builders and their MOCs.

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He Wields A Mighty Hammer

It's not easy being a LEGO Community Manager. There's all the phone calls, travel and email. There's the continual complaining from the whiny AFOL community. And if one more person asks about monorail track, someone's gonna get hurt. Well builder Si-MOCs understands this anguish, and gave Kevin Hinkle a mighty hammer to wield, and wield it he did.

Hinkle Hammer
HINKLE SMASH

Doof Wagon

The discerning gentleman prefers to travel in style and comfort, surrounded by his favorite things. Perhaps those things are burled walnut, fine grade leather and a superior sound system. Then again maybe those things are a ridiculous sound system, a harness suspension system and a FLAME THROWING GUITAR! Builder Pepa Quin seems to prefer the later.

The Doof Wagon

LL26 Seeker

I grew up with Classic Space, so I've been enjoying the almost daily re-imagined versions of the original sets.  But what's really nifty are the completely new designs, like this rover by Chris Perron.  First thing I noticed were those tires.  They look like the multiple airbag wheels actually used by the various space agencies.  Plus it looks wicked fast! 

LL26 Seeker

Jack-In-The-Box

I never had a jack-in-the-box as a kid, but I remember my cousin having one and it scared the crap out of me. You would crank the handle to a somewhat creepy rendition of Pop Goes The Weasel, at least for the first three measures. Then it was almost time for the "Pop", and the timing was always just a little off. Sometimes it was a full crank, sometimes 3/4, sometimes 1 1/2. I don't know if it was intentional, but it sure caused a lot of child anguish and stress. Then the damn clown would pop out and it was time to change your shorts. This version by ~Likus~ doesn't "pop" up, but the crank does make the clown go up and down, which is *almost* as creepy.

Jack the Master of Mischief

Fuel Up

I have mixed feelings on this. First, it's fossil fuel, which we really need to get beyond. But, how many times have you been rescued by the side of the road with one of these? This is also exactly like the gas can I used as a kid to fuel up the lawnmower I hated using. But then again it's also the one we would "borrow" when we needed to set something on fire for a super-8 movie (kids, don't set stuff on fire, it's dumb like I was). And lastly this one's built with LEGO by Pepa Quin, so overall it has to be a positive.

Guzzolene

Gizmo

Man the early 80's were a great time for movies. Think about how many fantastic films came out at that time, there were so many. It was also a time when I was finding myself as an artist and filmmaker, and was warped and inspired for life. One such inspirational films was Gremlins. It had cute moments, crazy moments, laughs and scares, and some of the best creature work ever caught on film. And of course, everyone fell in love with Gizmo, as depicted here by builder paddybricksplitter

Gizmo

Where The Wild Things Are

I read it as a kid, and I read it to my kids as an adult. It's Maurice Sendak's classic book Where The Wild Things Are. It's got a unique look that's instantly recognizable, and has been captured perfectly in this MOC by Max Pointner. There's also some clever part use here, like the croc tails on the tree, genius.

Where The Wild Things Are Main 2