Klaatu Barada Nikto

Making movies is a lot of work, and I do mean a LOT of work, and I've done a fair share of them since 1988. Most have blurred into a mishmash of memories of waiting all day to be up, last second equipment malfunctions and tyrannical directors. But a few stand out as actually fun to work on, Army of Darkness was one of them. Bruce Campbell was a joy to be around, Sam Raimi was awesome and the crew of Alterian Studios was family. So to see this book of the dead by vitreolum might conjure images of the macabre for some, to me it's just fond memories of one of the better movie making experiences of my career.

Halo MA5D Assault Rifle

The king of fantasy weapons Nick Brick is back with another stunning rifle. This time it's the MA5D from Halo. It's loaded with features including removable magazine and swappable sights. He also put together a pretty kickass video to show off those features.

Punch It Chewie!

This is so cool. I'm sure a fair percentage of the population would look at this latest MOC from Pepa Quin and just scratch their head muttering something like "Is it for a video game?" But we know better, we're nerds, we love Star Wars, and we know this is from the console of the Millennium Falcon.

Take Note

It took me a second to find the seed part in this latest Iron Builder MOC from One More Brick. And then after I spotted them, it took me another second to figure out how he built with them in this way. Not to mention the fact that from a thumbnail, you'd pass right over this picture, thinking it was real. That all adds up to a pretty impressive MOC.

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.

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.

Ramen

I've only been to Japan once, but some of my more vivid memories were of the food. One afternoon we went to a noodle house, and I had some of the best noodles I've ever had. This MOC by Legorookie took me instantly back to that moment. And of course, now I'm craving noodles.

Xylophone Of Terror

We all had one, but there's a dark secret to the child's xylophone (and all children's musical instruments). That secret is that no parent ever bought their child one of these! They're always from a friend without kids, an aunt or uncle without a clue or a neighbor with a grudge. And while we all thought we were making music what we were really making is parental aural trauma. But I do like this one by builder legoadam, mostly because it will only go "tack tack tack" and if you play too loud, it'll just fall apart.

M-6 Carnifex

The king of sci-fi prop weapons Nick Brick is back with another awesome MOC. This is the M-6 Carnifex hand cannon from Mass Effect 2. It features a moving trigger and a moving slide to simulate thermal clip ejection. I of course know nothing about the game, but I do dig a good prop, and this one looks amazing.

It's Nerf Or Nothing

Fans of bricks and foam projectiles rejoice! Builder Proudlove has recreated my favorite all-time Nerf gun with my favorite bricks. It's so well done I almost passed it over thinking it was real. No creative cubicle environment is complete without proper dart warfare, and this pistol was always my weapon of choice, simple, effective, reliable and stylish.

Stinky Stuff

Does anyone use perfume atomizers anymore? It seems like when I was a kid they were on display all over the place, including on top of my parent's dresser, but not actually filled with anything. And they seemed to make regular appearances on TV. But now I realize I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild. Well, at least until KOS surprised me with this excellent offering of brick-built ones.

Have You Ever Retired A Human By Mistake?

Obedient Machine is back with another brilliant micro weapon build. This time it's Deckard's gun from Bladerunner, with just eleven parts! I've always wanted this prop. I love the design and it's functional yet futuristic aesthetic, as well as the dual triggers. Plus who doesn't want to chase replicants off world?

Splat!

You can do it. Sure it's hard to hold five soft serve ice cream cones at the same time, but the family is waiting and you're in a hurry. Besides, you're the dad, and dad's rule. Now if you just arrange the cones in such a way that you can hold one between your middle finger and your forefinger, and one between your forefinger and thumb, and grab the last one between your hands...yes, yes, that'll work. Oh good, he's holding the door for me, thanks dude! Now where did they go? Ah there they are, by the statue, 200 feet away. Wait until the kids see these, I'm a hero, best dad ever. 100 feet, whoa, that lady almost took me out with her stroller. Ack! The middle one is slipping, oh jeez.  50 feet, watch the curb, watch the curb. 25 feet, don't get any ideas mr. seagull, ugh, it slipped again. 10 feet, they see me, look at the gleam in those little eyes! 5 feet, oh crap...

*splat*

Guess I'm not having ice cream.

SUROS Regime

Nick Brick, the master of fantasy weapons is back with another masterpiece. This is the SUROS Regime, an auto rifle from the game Destiny. It features a removable magazine, moving trigger and charging handle and a light-up ammo counter. All that wrapped in a kickass, contoured MOC with perfect attention to detail.

Use This, Just Don't Wear A Red Shirt

Star Trek: The Next Generation had some pretty cool tech in it. I'll admit at first I hated these phasers, but over the years they've grown on me (and I have a toy one in the attic). This prop replica by eldeeem isn't quite the right scale according to the builder, but you can't tell from the photograph, it looks spot on and quite cool.

New Year Yummies

I won't pretend to know much about Chinese New Year, but I do know candy! This lovely MOC by builder Andybear was one of those "skip over at first since the thumbnail fooled you" moments for me. I mean really, look at the detail and care that went into this. While the treats inside look marvelous, my favorite detail has got to be the lid of the box, that's stellar work.

You Scream, I Scream

We all scream for this wonderful ice cream MOC by shfio. The studs out SNOT construction of this delicately swirled ABS treat are a wonder to behold. We've all seen builds of this type before, but the fact that it not only swirls upward but also diminishes as it goes up sort of blows my mind. It's like a brain freeze, without all the calories.

Don't Touch That Dial

"...That was Muskrat Love by Captain & Tennille on this lovely Monday morning here in Lompoc California. The high today is expected to be 74º and a bit windy, but you're used to that. Coming up this weekend is the annual Flower Festival and I wanted to let you know that KNEZ is going to be there. I'll be live as the parade passes the station here and then later at the park we'll be hosting a live chat with grand marshal Flip Reed! Now let's rock out to The Edgar Winter Group with Frankenstein, right here on KNEZ!"

How Is This Possible?

Some of my favorite builders are presently competing in Iron Builder, and as usual its fierce competition, but I'm beginning to doubt Siercon and Coral are mortal. I swear those two are not only altering space and time, but are summoning an army of spirit builders or something. Can you believe all this came from only two builders in just two weeks?

Got A Light?

I'm a sucker for realism, and even at full size you really have to look and see that these are actually expertly crafted LEGO prop matches by AFOL turned LEGO designer Carlmerriam. I love how Carl isn't afraid to let scale get in the way when it comes to props, and it makes his MOCs even more magical.