Quite Possibly The Coolest Birthday Present Ever
/For his friend's 50th birthday, builder (and dear old friend of mine) Peter Abrahamson put together what might just be the most awesome birthday present ever. This is a recreation of a custom one-off Bladerunner Spinner that LEGO built for production designer and legendary artist Syd Mead. Not only that, it's with a custom framed license plate from the movie!
The Spinner that LEGO built was unique because of some non production color parts used. It was actually featured in a detailed account by Joe Meno for BrickJournal issue #28 and featured right here on BrickNerd way back in 2014. Joe provided Pete the digital model he reverse engineered, which Pete gratefully acknowledges he couldn't have done it without. Some of the flex tubing used was never in production in blue, as well as the part on the inside of the front wheels. Pete got around this problem on the front wheels by using parts that were spray painted (I can hear you purists gasp, it's gonna be ok) by a friend. And for the flex tubing Pete substituted gray tubing instead, which looks just fine.
Pete also custom printed water lift decals for the model which were painstakingly cut and applied. This was a real labor of love. Even the back of this thing is beyond awesome. To support the model on the frame, Pete custom built a frame back with a connecting beam at the bottom. Check out that custom waterjet cut Bladerunner detail in the middle!
So, an actual prop from the movie and a faithfully recreated custom LEGO model all in a totally cool custom frame. You have to agree, this is about the best present ever. I'm sure Pete's friend will be proudly displaying this unique work of art and love for years to come.
By the way, I turn 50 in a couple years Pete, I'm a big Star Wars fan...just sayin'
Tintin's Rocket
/I was a big fan of the Tintin comics growing up (I even enjoyed the movie, despite all the uncanny valley CGI). Legohaulic's MOC of the rocket ship from Explorers on The Moon is a fantastic recreation (check out the interior details!), and makes me want to pick up a Tintin comic again.
Storm's Edge
/Feast your eyes on Nick Trotta's latest star fighter! I suppose you could also call it a flying cannon, with the primary weapon under the nose running almost the entire length of the ship. It's definitely worth zooming in to see how those wings are constructed, too. And if you can't figure out how he built them, check out the video. Nice one, Nick!
The Exorcist
/I made the awful mistake of watching The Exorcist when I was about 12 years old, roughly the same age as Regan in the movie. It scared the crap out of me, I was traumatized for days. Then again, I also developed a crush on Linda Blair, so sorta a double edge sword I guess. This little vignette by vitreolum recreates one of the more disturbing scenes, and I'm sorta having flashbacks. Despite the questionable subject matter, there's actually a lot of really cool and subtle techniques being used here, like the wall molding achieved with jumpers, and the paneled door. This is spooky good.
Mk IV Automaton
/Builder 2 Much Caffeine imagines the power of steam and the first quantum clocks in The Mark IV Automaton. Can you just imagine if the early breakthroughs in electronics and computers would have coincided with the age of steam power? It would have been really impressive. Then again we still can't get a robot to reliably open a door, so things might have gotten messy.
RED3
/Sci-Fi guy ska2d2 has returned to minifig scale with this nifty rig. You may recall his micro fleet posted back in December. What I like about RED3 is there's no pretense of aerodynamics. Bulky and practical, no frills save the black and yellow checker details. Scroll through the photostream to see some nice up-close shots, like the retractable cockpit action. And good luck finding an exposed stud on this baby. I couldn't.
Girl With Balloons
/Builder Grantmasters shows us how you really can't go wrong when you combine Banksy, LEGO and silhousaic art. This interpretation of 'girl with balloons' (not it's official title, Banksy isn't much on titling his work) would look right at home in any art museum. Or on the wall of my studio for that matter.
Bright Idea
/Sometimes it's not so much about the building, but about the presentation. None of these little lamps by kosbrick are particularly spectacular, just the clever assembly of a few pieces, including the seed part from Iron Builder. But put them all together on a Ikea inspired shopping "web page" and it's absolutely marvelous.
Pay Attention Class...
/Of course LEGO astronauts go to space academy, they have to learn the ways of space somewhere. And of course there's lecture halls at the academy, they're perfect for group learning. So why we've never seen a space academy lecture room before now seems baffling. Thankfully builder justin_m_winn came along to fix this oversight. Three cheers for higher education!
Bugatti Chiron
/Here's the latest stunning build from LEGO car artist Firas Abu-Jaber. He's itemized all the engineering specs and design features of this new Italian supercar on the main pic. Plus there are all sorts of interesting tidbits of information with the subsequent shots in his photostream. All I have to say is, "Awesome!"
Easter Eggs Decorated By Robot
/LEGO mechanical genius JKBrickworks is back with another fantastic project that you can build yourself, just in time for easter! The egg decorating machine is a fairly simple gadget and has been around for ages, I remember playing with the "Decoregger" when I was a kid, but with the addition of LEGO EV3, it's all the more fun. Head over to the Jason's website for everything you need to build your own.
Welcome Foolish Mortals
/You all know what a Disneyland nerd I am, and no trip to the Magic Kingdom is complete without a visit to our favorite spooky attraction, the Haunted Mansion. This MOC by kjm161 not only captures the look and feel of the exterior of my favorite residence of New Orleans Square, but it has a fully detailed interior. The inside is absolutely packed with details and homages to the attraction, from madame Leota to the hitchhiking ghosts, to the rest of the 999 happy haunts. Now, look alive, and click through for many more pictures.
Leonardo's Workshop
/Nobody would dispute the contributions of Leonardo Da Vinci to the art, science, design and medical worlds, as well as others. The man was an absolute genius and changed the world forever. This MOC by MolochBaal imagines what his workshop might have looked like, and it's how I always imagined it. I love the fact that many of the disciplines Leonardo practiced are present, from war to fine art.
Enter The Bat
/I have an affinity for large-scale brick-built characters. They open up way more animation possibilities than just standard minifigs. This Batman MOC by Roman has loads of charm, and would make for a fun brickfilm, to boot.
A Place For Everything, And Everything In It's Place
/This looks right out of a Hold Everything or Ikea catalog. Builder kosbrick is presently engaged in an epic struggle known as Iron Builder, and the seed part is the little paint roller handle being so cleverly used as hooks in this unpretentious build. It's clean, it's realistic and it's functional.
Gotta Build Them All!
/Once upon a time Pokemon was huge at my house. Both of my boys went through phases where all that was talked about was how to be a good trainer and how to catch them all. Now builder Takamichi Irie has started a series of fantastic MOCs bringing these pocket monsters to life. The addition of the collector card for each Pokemon is a brilliant touch. Maybe he'll eventually get to my personal favorite, Cubone. Photos by willgalb.
American Graffiti
/You may not know this Star Wars fans, but you owe a debt of gratitude to this yellow hotrod. Prior to Star Wars getting greenlit the executives at Universal were scratching their heads at a little film from a young filmmaker named George Lucas. They didn't get it, and in fact almost shelved it, but when they finally released the film it was a smash hit. It had humor, it had poignancy, it had music and it had cars...We loved it. Based on it's success George was able to finally convince 20th Century Fox to give Star Wars a shot. The rest, as they say, is history. This updated version of John Milner's hotrod by Tiler makes me smell gas and hear Wolfman Jack.
Lifting Microscale to New Heights
/As a predominantly microscale builder, I love the challenge of making something instantly recognizable with as few pieces as possible. Builder Kosmas Santosa will tell you himself that he doesn't build much in this scale - but after seeing this Gondola I'm certain he should continue to try his hand at it. I see a total of 11 pieces here, not counting the string and background. Masterful work.
Dogmatix
/European readers are more likely to recognize this canine character, It's Obelix's trusty terrier Dogmatix (AKA Idefix) from the Asterix and Obelix comics. I've never read the comics, but I'm familiar with some of the characters, and instantly recognized this little guy. Builder grubaluk perfectly captures his character in this highly pose-able MOC.
























