The Practicality Of Practical

No, this isn't an elaborate MOC, but it's something near and dear to me. It's also a statement in a single image. This is the great Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew of Star Wars fame. This image is to celebrate practical effects, or really in this case actors in costumes. If you look in the background you'll see Maz and Jar Jar, both CGI characters, seemingly wishing they had some humanity. As incredible as CGI is, it's still better to just have something in front of the camera.

A fun little bit of irony though. That chrome sphere being held by Tony? It is actually used to improve lighting on CGI.

Get Away From Her You...

Who can ever forget that first time you saw Aliens and the queen showed up at the end (spoilers?) After the first 90% of the movie that was already like riding a rollercoaster with your hair on fire holding a rabid cat this baby pops out of the drop ship and you soil your seat. Well now Sir Nadroj has build a brick version of her and she's a beauty. May I suggest a power suit and Ripley next? Has to be done Jordan, get to work.

Geek & Sundry's New Look

The fine humans at Geek & Sundry reached out to me last month to help them roll out a new look and logo for their brand. I had a great time building this and shooting a time-lapse. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

Transforming Brick

Now here is a Transformer I can get excited about. Builder Moko has taken the classic 2x4 brick and given it the Transformers treatment, and the results are pretty impressive. It's relatively seamless and you just wouldn't suspect what it turns into, I guess you could say it's a...wait for it... robot in disguise.

...you're welcome.

First Order Stormtrooper Blaster

Like Star Wars fans all over the world I'm captivated with the new Stormtroopers. I was never a huge fan of Clonetroopers, and like a great many fans was cautiously optimistic about what Episode VII might have in store for us. But my doubts quickly evaporated the first time I saw the trailer. They have some pretty cool hardware too, like this new blaster by builder willgalb. I was also a proud owner of a toy blaster as a kid, back when you could buy one that looked like the ones in the movie. Then they got really weird colors for safety reasons. I guess that won't be a problem this time around.

Heropon Riki

I know next to nothing about this character, or the video game he comes from, Xenoblade Chronicles. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate this build by lingonkart. Regardless of whether or not I've played the game, I find this guy compelling an absolutely bursting with character. And he appears to have some seriously handy hair.

Der Drehorgelspieler

This is an interesting MOC, made more so since it's a Japanese Model based on a German concept, so it's in two languages I don't speak. I don't have time to do any research, or translation, so I just have to blog about what I know: This is a lovely MOC by KMbricklab with fun and enchanting mechanical action, check it out

Marchitecture Begins!

A new month within the AFOL community usually brings new challenges and contests, and I am personally rather excited for this new offering sponsored by SLUG from Saskatchewan! Marchitecture challenges us to build a microscale version of a real world building, in the style of the official TLG Architecture sets. Full contest rules can be found in the Flickr group.

First prize is a copy of 20128-1 New York City, so get building!

Win Some Stuff, Shed Some Light

We're huge fans of Brickstuff. I've used their lighting products in many animated projects and they're the coolest company you'll ever do business with. Now you can score your own starter kit and all it takes is your email! Click here to enter and good luck!

Hungry?

I went to Japan once, it was in the late 90's and quite the adventure. It started simply enough, with some press junkets for Armageddon and lots of meetings. There was food too, lots of it, and it was sensational every where we went. And presented well, with pride and panache, like this bento box from nobu_tary. Then I got sick, asian influenza type two, and became quite familiar with my hotel room... for three long and brutal days longer than I planned to stay in the country.

RetroRod

This sweet hotrod by Tiler just showed up in my Flickr feed as I was considering being done blogging for now, so much for that. It doesn't even have a name on Flickr, so I'm calling it RetroRod. Something about the whilewall tires (how the heck did he do that?) and the copper/black color scheme feels nostalgic, but the rest of it just screams "eat my dust".

Darth Vader Car

These little Star Wars inspired Hotwheels hit the shelves a couple years ago, and while I've never purchased one (I really need to control myself, too much stuff at my house already) I always stop and look at them. This is one of my favorites, Darth Vader. Seeing it as a full size car at SDCC was a thrill, but I think seeing it built in brick form by Don't Talk to Robots is even better.

Dueling Motherboards

This Iron Builder round has been epic, with both builders cranking out a truly astonishing amount of top quality MOCs in a competition of perfectly paired players. And if it wasn't clear that these two are exquisitely matched, how about this: On the same day, by complete coincidence, both builders crafted motherboards, similar in style and color scheme. Great minds think alike, and great builders build alike.

Gamer

Here we see the modern gamer (homoerectus computariumludis) in his natural habitat thanks to the efforts of builder and exhibit curator Graham Gidman. The setting is tranquil at the moment, but be wary of any sudden outbursts, they indicate that something has not gone well in the current activity, and his temper may flair at any moment. Also in the event of loss of power or broadband please evacuate the area immediately to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. Notice how the gamer has gathered objects of affection and role play around him, as well as decorating his environment in a pleasing manner, evoking memories of pop culture experiences. As you can see it's feeding time, so we caution you to keep your hands and feet well clear of his mouth.

Proteus Rover

FebRovery is almost over, but cool spacefaring rovers are still coming in, like this way cool dual driver model from builder TrapleS. There's a realistic quality to this rover, while still looking very slick. It reminds me of the rover in The Martian, which was based on proper research and consultation with NASA and JPL (with an added touch of Hollywood design of course).

The Afterburner

This month's LUGnuts challenge has certainly been eventful. It's not hard to imagine why since it's the 100th (!) and they're doing it up right. Builder Moritz drew "fire engine" and as you can see, he ran with it. Inspired by FDNY's iconic lime green engines, this beast looks as capable as starting as many fires as it puts out, but it would certainly be awesome to see in action.

Build This Earth, Moon And Sun Orrery!

Mechanical mad genius JK Brickworks is back with another fun project, and something that everyone needs on their desk, an Orrery. I'd call it simple, because it just has the sun, earth and moon, but as you can see in the picture and video, it's far from it. It's also surprisingly accurate in rotation and orbit, having cycles that are really close to the actual celestial bodies. And with instructions generously shared by the builder, you can make your own!

Don't Cross The Steams!

Like most people I am quite excited to see the upcoming Ghostbusters re-boot but imagine if the story was taken back into the Victorian Age and given a Steam Punk makeover. Thats what Cpt. Brick has done! With stories of Fish & Chip eating Eco-plasm and unfriendly Librarians the scene is well set. All thats missing is an Ecto 1 for the Phantom Catchers to rush through the street of Old London Town in. "I say old chap, be a good fellow and don't cross the steams!"

Rolls Royce Springfield Silver Ghost Playboy Roadster

Speaking of the contest on LUGNuts, my pal Firas Abu-Jaber drew #1 in a list of 100 predetermined cars.  Not only did he build an amazing replica, but he's also got the hood ornament and the external trunk to boot.  Check out the link to Firas' in-depth write up and tons of extra pics on MocPages. 

El Laxante!

This thing is just awesome.  Andy, aka D-Town Cracka, has come up with a seriously modified 1974 Chevy El Camino SS.  Apparently there's a contest going on at LUGNuts called the 100th Build Challenge.  This is #74.  Get it?  "Chopped, bored, jacked and tracked", this baby's got all the features you'd need at a monster truck show, Sunday-Sunday-Sunday!  Kids 12 and under enter free.