Happy Easter...Or Else...

When someone mentions old Peter Cottontail you might be inclined to imagine a fluffy little bunny, or maybe even a fairly big bunny, all cheerful and delivering eggs. But not builder Thirdeye88, to him the bringer of eggs is a ripped uberhare with a Batman t-shirt. Happy Easter everyone!

"Cheap Sunglasses"

This gorgeous custom by timhenderson73 looks right out of a ZZ Top music video (as it's nickname suggests), or better yet a super hero movie. It's what happens when automotive design and whimsical but stylish fabrication meet, and it's absolutely beautiful. I'm not the type to dream about one day owning a supercar, or even a luxury car for that matter, but I can see myself cruising in this baby.

Florence's Machine

"Step right up ladies and gentlemen to see a wondrous marvel of the modern age! This steam powered wonder is Florence's Machine and you'll be amazed and astounded! Just look at all that plumbing and mechanical wizardry, it's truly a fabulous mechanization!"

"What's that son? What's it do? ... I have no idea boy and that's beside the point! Just look at those gears and listen to it chuff, it's an absolutely astonishing apparatus..."

Jeweled Eggs

I've never really been able to wrap my head around the Fabergé Eggs. I mean I understand sprucing things up, maybe even making the mundane magnificent, but eggs? That was until I saw these jeweled egg MOCs from builder Koen. If those famous Russian eggs opened to reveal cute little minifig scenes then it would have made a whole lot more sense to me, at least around Easter maybe.

Super Speedway

That's right race fans, this is how you display cars! Builder Brick Knight brings us the Super Speedway, and it's a seriously detailed and huge MOC. There's something for everyone here, including some super hero and celebrity cameos, race action, crash action and of course lots of snacks. Do yourself a favor and click through for tons more pics of this terrific MOC.

Gundam

Here it is, the one that started it all, the grandaddy of all mechs, Gundam RX-78-2 by nobu_tary. There may have been other giant robots before, but this is the one that turned mecha anime into a thing. Originally airing in 1979 this guy is probably older than many of you reading this post (but not me, man I'm old) but I'm guessing you've seen him before. That's staying power, and a testament to his pedigree.

Blitzcrank

My boys are going to dig this MOC by The real Eric Tsai, unlike me they actually play this game (sometimes for days at a time, get a job!) and know the characters. I dig it because it's a cool design, it's well built and has personality. A quick Google search (yeah, I'm that lame) reveals this guy to be steam powered, which makes him even more endearing in my book. 

How It Should Have Ended - The Force Awakens

My pal and animation guru Kevin Ulrich of Brotherhood Workshop has teamed up with How It Should Have Ended to show us how Star Wars The Force Awakens might have ended. In which Kylo gets his emo butt handed to him...oops, spoilers. I even got a shoutout in the credits!

Take Off

Here's a fun fact: I know how to fly a plane. It's been a really long time, but in a pinch I could take the yoke (of a small plane) and get down safely. This latest MOC by kosbrick is not only a brilliant recreation of a mid size airliner cockpit, but it's also photographed really well. Luckily KOS has an excellent article detailing this technique. 

Blue Bull

When I think of builder Norton74, I think of hotrods, cars and crazy detailed garages. But now I'm going to add classic space to that because check out this MOC! This WWI inspired big blue tank has been flash forwarded to the future. It features a long range gun and has a rotating turret and a crew of three. The maintenance hangar is a thing of beauty too, so much spacy goodness.

Elegant Telecommunications

Now don't get me wrong, I think my iPhone (and all of it's predecessors) have been beautiful designs, but I wouldn't call them 'elegant'. Phones dating back to the art deco and art nouveau era however, were stunning art pieces that you happened to make calls with. Take for instance this brilliant MOC by kosbrick. It is representative of a time when form and function effortlessly intertwined, and is as lovely to look at as it is useful for communicating.

Gameboy

Way back in 1989 I was working on location on a pretty terrible film called The Boneyard. One day me and some other crew members went to Walmart and I spotted these, the brand new Gameboy from Nintendo. I immediately bought two, one for me, one for my girlfriend, and we played and played. This version by Kloou brings back all the nostalgic feels. 

The Harvestman

This bony dude from Djokson is called The Harvestman. What's not clear is exactly what he harvests. With his mischievous yet charismatic appearance, not to mention all the bones, I sort of get the feeling I wouldn't be too happy about it. But as a MOC I'm real happy about it.

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! 

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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!

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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.