Typewriter

Yeah kids, there's no screen on this old time laptop. Way back when this is how we put letters on paper, mechanically. This 1:1 replica of a classic Underwood by Legopard is absolutely gorgeous. I can't say it makes me nostalgic though, this baby outdates even my crusty old bones. Besides, I don't miss typewriters at all, not even the least. But I do appreciate a good LEGO prop replica, and this is top-notch.

Typewriter

You Are Under A Rest!

This one slipped under my radar last month, and almost slipped under it today too. The bars and notes here are so well crafted I had no idea they were bricks, even after looking at the full size image. The only giveaway was the stair stepping on those last two notes. Besides that it makes excellent use of that most underrated form of humor, the pun. Well played, Vakkron, well played (get it? Well "played"... get it? nyuck nyuck, I'll show myself out.)

You Are Under a Rest

The Key To Good Building

Sometimes the key to good building (ok, sorry for the pun) is to mess with people's minds, or at least scale. At first it's impossible to tell how big this MOC by Legopard is, or that it's even a MOC really. But it is indeed brick-built and perfectly crafted. And once you study the picture for a bit, you realize just how big this thing is. I'd hate to see the door it opens.

I found a key!

Ski Chalet

I'm not a skier, I haven't been skiing in 30 years, and I wasn't good back then, in fact I was terrible. But one of the things I did enjoy about the experience was sipping hot chocolate in the warm and cozy lodge after the day freezing and face-planting on the slopes (I won't go into details about the rescue sled incident, but it wasn't pretty). I doubt I'll ever strap on skis again, but seeing this wonderful chalet by builder SEBASTIAN-Z sure makes me crave hot chocolate and a warm fire while the snow falls outside. Meanwhile I'll enjoy the 81º weather here in California.

Ski Chalet (Lego MOC) 1
Ski Chalet - first floor 3
Ski Chalet (Lego MOC) - Interior Collage 2

Plumbers On A Mission

I've played Mario and his brother in many of their adventures. The stand outs are Super Mario 64 and Luigi's Mansion of course, but there's been a lot of mischief these plumbers have gotten into. Interestingly enough, Mario actually started as a carpenter, and he only had a mustache because the limited pixel graphics of the age made it difficult to make faces. But even with the limited ABS voxels of today, builder 2 Much Caffeine managed to perfectly capture these two intrepid turtle stompers.

Brothers in brick

Unplanned Maintenance

I really like this shot!  It's one of those scenes where it seems like just another day at work, but you know that something horrible is about to happen.  It reminds me of the beginning of an old X-Files episode, for those familiar with Fluke Boy.  Conspiracy theories aside,  Justin M Winn has been experimenting with a Brickstuff lighting kit, and I'd say it's been a success.  Can't wait to see what happens next!

Unplanned Maintenance - Main Services Tunnel, Sector M11

Clockwork Heart

Little known fact: the human heart, pictured here in a model by JK Brickworks, has at least 16 gears, a choo choo mechanism and in some cases an escapement. This is all kept running by a small reactor located in the lower abdomen and lubricated by Bio Lubrication OOzing Dilution, or B.L.O.O.D. This explains the age old tradition of giving a heart shaped box full of mechanical parts (later changed to chocolate) to loved ones.

Clockwork Heart

Love

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, especially when we're feelin' the love. It's Valentine's day, and the first thing that popped in my head when thinking of what to post to celebrate it was this sculpture by Bill Ward from 2009, based on Robert Indiana's sculpture from 1970, so we're going deep nostalgia today. Happy Valentine's day everyone, hug someone you love!

Robert Indiana "LOVE" Sculpture

Nornfang

The bard of brick weapons Nick Brick is back with another stunning MOC. This time it's the Nornfang, a specially tuned SRS99-S5 AM sniper rifle from Halo 5. It's working features include removable magazine, moving trigger, sliding bolt/charging handle and the ability to widen the eyes of anyone who views it. In the game this thing will drop a Spartan in one shot, in real life it will drop jaws all over the internets.

Nornfang - Halo 5: Guardians
Nornfang - Halo 5: Guardians
Nornfang - Halo 5: Guardians

Review - LEGO Architecture Venice 21026

Review - LEGO Architecture Venice 21026

A few weeks ago, Tommy asked if anyone on the Bricknerd Team wanted to do a review of one of the new LEGO Architecture sets.  Yes!  I volunteered for Venice.  My wife and I went to Venice on our honeymoon, and I had been there a few times before.  Tommy informed me that I should be on the lookout for a box from Billund, so I waited anxiously by the mailbox. But since it’s February in Vermont, my wife suggested I come inside.  Good thing too, it was almost two weeks before it arrived. 

Read More

Beauty On A Beauty

There's been a long time and somewhat baffling fascination with combining the photography of cars with women. I sort of understand it at a "primal man level" (lowers brow, grunts, shiny car, pretty girl). But in the end the practice does neither subject justice if for no other reason than size discrepancy. Back far enough to see the car, can't see the girl, and vice versa. None of this applies to brick-built silhousaics though, like this latest masterpiece by Bricks Noir.

Sweet Ride

Cylon Raider

My US contemporaries will remember the Sears Wishbook. That venerable catalog of all things Christmas that we waited for every year and wore out well before the holiday ever came. Well, when I was about 10 years old I noticed an error in the wishbook, they had accidentally swapped the name of the Cylon Raider, as seen here in this marvelous MOC by builder 2 x 4, and the Colonial Viper model kits. Well, I wasn't going to stand for that and wrote a letter to Sears. Flash forward a few months and I got a package in the mail along with a nice letter. I can't remember all the details, but an executive from Sears explained that clearly some of the staff wasn't as big of a fan of Battlestar Galactica as he and I were, and to enjoy both the models for free. I was very happy.

CylonRaider01

Adventure's End

I instantly thought of two things when I saw this absolutely brilliant MOC by Paddy Bricksplitter, the old Adventurer's Club at Disney's Pleasure Island in Orlando (kungaloosh!) and one of my favorite all-time jokes which I won't tell here (it really needs to be heard, not read). There's so much to love here I don't know where to start, I'll just invite you all to take in all that detail and backstory, there were some excellent adventures indeed.

Adventures End

LEGO FairlightCMI 11x

Our buddy Iain Heath, harkening back to his Disco Days, was inspired by grobie's ongoing series of classic synthesizers.  "Launched in 1979, the Fairlight CMI was the first commercially viable digital sampling keyboard. It ushered in a new decade of musical experimentation at the hands of artists like Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield and the Art of Noise."  The only thing missing is a pic of Iain with some nice sideburns and a pair of bell bottoms--Funky!

LEGO Fairlight CMI IIx

LEGO Fairlight CMI IIx

Leisure Suit Larry

A perfect evening for me and the future Mrs BrickNerd in the late 80's early 90's would be a yummy dinner, some pretzel sticks and ranch dip and a classic adventure game. The one that inspired this brilliant MOC by Vitreolum was one of our favorites, Leisure Suit Larry. The whole point of the game was to try and get poor hapless Larry a little bit of action, and it wasn't easy, but it sure was funny.

Leisure Suit Larry