Trick-Or-Treat!

Yes, Halloween is finally here. Time to decorate the house (if you haven't already), put on Monster Mash, put the heaps of candy in a bowl and wait for all the parents all over town to drop their kids in your neighborhood (at least that's what they do here). I can only hope I get some trick-or-treaters tonight that look as good as this lot by Takamichi Irie. I better go get more candy...

Trick or Treat !?

Orc Fort

Orcs are a very misunderstood creature, often thought of in lore as evil, dirty, and generally not all that nice! But just because they prefer the freeness of loin cloth over a nice pair of pants doesn't make them evil. Sure they pillage the villages of the various, hapless, fantasy realms from time to time and maybe they enjoy "man-flesh" a little bit too much. And who knows what do-gooder they captured this fort, created by builder Christophe, from? In the end maybe these "evil" deeds are just a cry for help. So, the next time you run across a pillaging orc in your village, go ahead and give him a nice big hug, just watch out for the spiky armor.

Orc Fort

The Ring

I don't watch very many scary movies (It's not that I'm afraid, it's that I find most of them terrible from a filmmaking standpoint) but I did see The Ring. I thought it had some creepy moments, but mostly pretty corny. But the big reveal coming through the TV was legitimately cool. This MOC by  paddybricksplitter is just as awesome and unsettling as the movie.

The Ring

Tiny Hot Rod

This is pretty clever. I almost just scrolled right past this MOC, I suspect you almost did the same, but take a closer look. The roof and back of the cab is a book, and the windows are pail handles. The bottom of the cab is actually inverted, somehow the gap between the cab and the trunk is perfectly filled by the book half and I have no idea how this whole thing is held together. There's actually a lot of really slick building in this tiny hot rod by grantmasters.

Review - LEGO Awesome Ideas

Review - LEGO Awesome Ideas

Publishing powerhouse DK is no stranger to LEGO fans. Every year we can expect numerous publications from them, and this year is no exception. Especially with the holidays upon us it seems everywhere I go I'm spotting DK LEGO books on the shelves (yesterday at Michael's for instance). As the years have passed one thing has changed the way I look at these books, the talented writers and artists that provide the content in them have become familiar, even friends.

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Strike Any Key When Ready

This brings back memories. The first computer in regular use in my life was my wife's college computer, a Packard Bell 386, not unlike this brilliant MOC by powerpig. Among it's many impressive specs was a whopping 20MB hard drive. Yes, that was cutting edge back then, about the size of three mp3's these days. And what's amusing is we wondered how we could EVER fill it.

My First Computer: DOS Edition

Mini Minimoog

No 70's rock band worth its salt was complete without a Minimoog.  They were created to take the synthesizer out of the studio and on the road.  Originally produced from 1970 to 81, they were so popular and sought after, Robert Moog redesigned the instrument for sale in 2002. 

So when I saw Grobie's LEGO version of the classic keyboard, it was time to crank up the Miami Vice theme!

Mini Minimoogs

Fresh Blood

Inspired by the stunning Rivers of Hell collaboration of Mihai Marius Mihu & The Deathly Halliwellonosendai2600 has crafted a castle of nightmares. With it's gaping maw bridge and crimson base, it's an intimidating structure to say the least. But I have to admit despite it's menacing appearance, I find myself irresistibly drawn to this, perhaps it's my darker side?

Fresh Blood!
Fresh Blood!

An Altered Fate

Although I hadn't heard of the Echoes of Imara book series, I recognize an awesome build when I see it.  David Frank's been busy creating this magnificent scene from the book An Altered Fate, by Claire...Frank... Hey!  Turns out he built this in honor of his wife's novel.  What a guy!

Impressive details throughout, from the landscaping to the architecture, it just keeps going.  The battle looks pretty cool, too.

My guess is, after all that work, she'll cut him some slack the next time he leaves the seat up.

Jaws 3D

This MOC hits close to home because one of my specialties in the movie biz is stereography (3D). I've had a life-long fascination with it ever since I got my first View-Master. But I do recall the dubious flirtation in the 80's with 3D, and it wasn't nearly as good as it is now. And I remember this movie in particular, it was terrible. That look on grampa's face in this wonderful MOC by eyescream54 isn't because he's scared the shark is gonna get him, it's because the bad vertical alignment, crosstalk and retinal rivalry of the film has given him a migraine (hooray for technical terms!)

Grampa Jaws 3-D

Elfire Interceptor

Here's the latest custom starfighter from Nick Trotta.  That red and white color scheme just about jumped off the screen at me when I opened my Flickr account this morning.  The forward swept wing design and functional details are pretty slick, too.  If you're curious about how it's actually put together, Nick has made a lightening-speed video to show how it's done. 

Elfire Interceptor

Elfire Interceptor: Build Video

"C" Is For Cookie

I grew up on Sesame Street, and while I was a fan of many of the Muppets, Cookie Monster was always a favorite. He could always be counted on for unbridled enthusiasm and reckless amusement. There was just something so refreshing and fun about a being that was so fixated on something that it pretty much defined him. I wouldn't know what that's like.

Coookieeeee!!!!!

Builder Showcase - Jimmy Fortel

Builder Showcase - Jimmy Fortel

The list of AFOLs that have actually visited my little studio here in Lompoc "middle of nowhere" California is pretty small. Not many are willing to make the long trip out of the way. So when Jimmy Forte (AKA 6kyubi6) and his lovely wife were visiting from France and willing to make the 3 hour trip from Los Angeles to visit, I was delighted. We ended up spending most of the day together, toured my dinky studio, had lunch at my favorite local burger joint Tom's, shared wine and mexican food at my house later and had a great time.

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