Bricks LA Is Coming

Did you know there's a LEGO convention in Los Angeles? it's true! Bricks LA is a fairly new con, having celebrated it's first one this year in May and he next one is just around the corner in January, so you better get hopin' (I better get hoppin' too!) The deadline to register as a VIB (very important builder, con attendee) is next week, December 12th so get your travel plans set. I'll see you in Los Angeles in just a few weeks!

- January 8-10, 2016
- Public Hours are Saturday January 9 and Sunday January 10 from 10am to 5pm
- Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA (300 E Green St, Pasadena, CA 91101)
- Deadline to register as a VIB: December 12th, 2015
- Deadline to register MOCs for MOC cards: December 20th, 2015
- VIB Registration cost: $55
- Admission to public show is just $5, kids 5 and under are free.
 

We Have Winners!

The judges have weighed in, the votes have been counted and we have clear winners. But before I say anything else I have to say what an incredible group of MOCs from an incredible group of builders. Judging was supremely difficult this year not only from the sheer number of entries, but from the staggering quality, creativity and diversity of all those wonderful Nerdlys. I am blown away and while I wish I could give everyone a prize, there can be only three, so without further ado, the NERDvember 2015 winners...

1st place - Nerdogorth by Paddy Bricksplitter

One of my personal favorites (it should be noted I wasn't a judge) so it makes me happy this is first. A wonderful mashup between a classic Star Wars moment and Nerdly, love it.

2nd place - Nerdly in carbonite by KOS brick

Another personal favorite. When this MOC was posted it gave everyone pause, and upped the ante. A brilliant concept perfectly executed and photographed.

3rd place - Nerdcrawler by Captainsmog

This entry will forever make me imagine that under those dark hoods, Jawas are wearing Nerdly glasses around those glowing yellow eyes.

Congratulations to all our winners, you deserve it. And a huge thank you to everyone that entered, you're all awesome. And of course I wish to thank all our sponsors this year, we couldn't do it without you. Until next year, build on and nerd out!

The Shard

This iconic building was still under construction when I was living and working in London in 2010, but even in it's half-built unfinished state it was impressive. It was completed in 2012 and while it had somewhat divided the public at first, it has since found it's way into the hearts and minds of Londoners and the world. It's a beautiful building, and this brick version by Rocco Buttliere is just as beautiful. Click through for more pics.

Getting Amp'd

One of the fun things about Iron Builder is the smack talk and MOC inspired MOCs. By that I mean one builder posts something, and the next builder responds to it with their own build. Some of it gets incredibly creative, if not a little sassy. For instance the drummer below is in direct response to this awesome amplifier from Legonardo Davidy.

Phonograph

There seems to be a music theme this morning here at BrickNerd. By total coincidence I was thinking moments ago about the Christmas music I have on vinyl, then this wonderful phonograph by bricks.life.idea pops up. I'll take it as a hint that I need to deck the halls today.

Gimme A Beat

Did I ever mention I'm a drummer? Well, let me clarify that, I'm a drummer in the sense that I have a drum set, and I make noise with it (or used to, it's been mothballed for ages). Of course I've never looked as cool as this cat by 6kyubi6 ready to rock your socks off

Red Five Standing By...

One of the classic problems when scaling down the X-Wing is keeping those iconic quad guns looking proper. This solution with the musketeer sword is pretty brilliant. We've seen countless LEGO versions of this Star Wars ship but this one by Legonardo Davidy just might be my favorite ever.

Pump It Up!

This is one of those classic situations where you might just skip over a MOC because it's so darned good it just looks like a mundane photo of an everyday object. This hand pump by 6kyubi6 may not be any good at inflating anything, but it's sure splendid to look at.

Standard Equipment

You know, I've never given much thought to the "mudflap girl". I grew up seeing her on nearly every 18 wheeler in the country, and since have seen her on hats and shirts and stickers and so on and so on. With a quick google search I discovered she's the product of Bill Zinda, who came up with her to promote his trucking products. And she's been going strong ever since. And now we can enjoy her curvaceous silhouette in bricks thanks to builder bricksnoir.

Star Wars Evolved

Our pals over at FBTB have announced another awesome contest. Inspired by all the familiar but new ships we've already seen from The Force Awakens, they're asking you to pick a ship from the Star Wars universe and update, or 'evolve' it. Head over to FBTB for all the details. You have until January 16th to enter, which means you can even wait until after you see EP7 for more inspiration.

By the way, this is the coolest contest poster I think I've ever seen, nice job Don!

Batman

This would have made an excellent addition to the Comic Bricks collaboration at Designer-Con (which I didn't get to see, boo hoo). Builder vitreolum has crafted yet another brilliant mosaic MOC, this time it's the dark knight himself, Batman. I don't know about you, but I feel safer at night knowing he's watching over us.

Love

If you find yourself at Ozfest this gesture has a totally different meaning, but if you're familiar with American Sign Language, you know this means love. And what could be a more touching effort to show the woman you love than to build her a sculpture? That's exactly what alanboar did, and the results speak for themselves. Happy anniversary you two.

One Ends, Another Begins

I had the honor and burden of judging the last Iron Builder, in which CMaddisson emerged victorious. But no sooner does one end, than the next epic struggle begins. This round pits Legonardo Davidy against 6kyubi6, and what a round it will be. Both builders have unique and very different styles, and the seed part (the musketeer sword) should prove to be a challenge to both. Let's all sit back and enjoy the action.

Oh, and Spongebob Squarepants has always been a fixture in this house, in fact I hung a Spongebob ornament on the tree yesterday. So I would be amiss if I didn't post this awesome MOC of Gary

King Dedede

Hey Nintendo fans, It's Kirby's hammer wielding arch nemesis King Dedede! This guy loves nothing more than smashing stuff, which is sort of odd behavior for a penguin in my opinion. But then again, so is wearing kingly robes and carrying a hammer. Nice build Pate-keetongu.

Tadano Mobile Crane

Way back when I built a lot of Technic. Not really my own MOCs, but I did buy a lot of sets, especially the big ones. So I have a somewhat vague idea what went into the engineering behind this behemoth by builder Engineering with ABS. But I'll emphasize vague, because even the largest LEGO produced set pales in comparison to this mechanical marvel. Just check out the specs in the bottom picture, it's really impressive. Click through for more pics and specs.

Большой Космический Аппарат

I didn't even know I could read Russian.  When I saw this beast of a creation buy Timofey Tkachev, I said, "Dude! That's one huge spaceship!"  Turns out that's what the title means with a little help from Google Translate: Large Spacecraft. 

It's a fascinating design, with all sorts of complicated angles and components.  If you scroll through the photostream, you'll see some WIP shots that show parts of the internal structure.  I'm not sure if it's inspired by a movie, video game, or just Timofey's keen imagination, but whatever the language: Awesome!

NERDvember is almost over!

Well folks it's almost over. But the good news is if you still want to build, you still have three days. So what are you waiting for?

I'd like to give a big shout to one last sponsor, BRICKSTUDS and my buddy Brandon Griffith. STUDS is a series of collector cards featuring AFOLs from around the world. I have the distinct honor of having a card of my own in series 1 and I'm very happy that there will be some packs in the prize packages this year.

The clock is ticking, it's a four day weekend (at least here in the US) and you're out of excuses. Break out the bricks and get building!

Sisyphus Kinetic Sculpture

JK Brickworks has come up with a crafty LEGO version of everybody's favorite boulder pusher from Greek mythology.  Doomed to an eternity of rolling that huge rock up a hill, only to watch it tumble back to the bottom, Sisyphus probably shouldn't have tried to outsmart Zeus.  That never ends well.  Check out the video to see the cutaway and all the interesting technic bits inside.  You might just end up watching it over and over and over...

Viper: F78 Freya's Mercy

Mark Stafford has come up with a nifty Viper design, just as Nnovvember draws to a close.  What really caught my attention was the cockpit detail shot.  But the beefy guns and saucer wings create some dramatic visual interest as well. 

There's still time, boys and girls, to build your own!  Pascal will be stitching together a poster of all the Vic Vipers, so follow his instructions if you want to be a part of it.  Unless you're still recovering from a Turkey Coma or Black Friday shopping...

Black Friday Deal At Chroble

You've seen them on my show, they're hanging on my set. They're the coolest and nicest way to display minifigures, they're Chroble shelves. And during this black Friday sale you can score one or more for 40% off with code BF2015. What are you waiting for?