Factory Frenzy

I knew we could expect some cool custom maze surfaces for the new LEGO Ideas Maze set, but the thought of making a timed game of skill, especially something as cool as this futuristic factory theme from BrickNerd's own Steebles never occurred to me. Watch the video, this thing is pretty awesome. Next step, lights, sounds and triggered actions, somebody get on that.

Steaming Gracefully Through The Clouds

Now this is how you make an entrance! Builder baz is a newcomer to the AFOL scene, and this is quite the way to jump in. This is his first built, and it's 3 feet long, 3 feet high, 2 feet wide, and weights 10 pounds. But size isn't everything (in fact, it's not much in my opinion), this is just some stellar building and lovely steampunkery. Welcome to the fold baz!

Beastly

It takes some out-of-the-box creative thinking to look at a dinghy and think "I'm gonna make that a alien dinosaur head", and thanks to builder Onosendai2600 we now know what that looks like. Combine that with a whole lot of olive green and some mad building chops and you've got this beast. Wouldn't want to run into this on expedition.

My Love Story

Collaborator and friend Kevin Ulrich of Brotherhood Workshop is getting hitched this weekend. To celebrate he put together this absolutely adorkable short telling his love story. Give it a view, it will fill you with warm fuzzies. Congrats Kevin and Celina!

Steamy T

We've seen a number of T-bucket hotrods from builder Norton74 lately, but none with a steampunk vibe. Not so much from a boiler, gears and plumbing standpoint, it even has a classic oversized V8 engine, but the color scheme and deco says "put on your tails, grab your top hat and let's go motoring"

"Open Fire. All Weapons. Dispatch War Rocket Ajax To Bring Back His Body"

"Flash, aaaaaaaaaaaa, Saviour of the Universe" When I emerged from my Dark Ages, one of the first things I discovered was Flickr. What a marvellous place, full of images of wondrous Lego creations. Such joy. Such inspiration. Looking back at some of the first things that I faved, I re-discovered this micro space Flash Gordon ship. I love the film and the camp, comic book imagery and this MOC by halfbeak from August 2012 captures the look perfectly. I had never really considered Micro Scale as a serious medium until this. "Flash, Flash, I love you. But we only have twenty four hours to save the Earth!"

Space Monkey

I only discovered builder LEGO 7 last week when I blogged his marvelous Darth Vader sculpture and scene. I don't think this is old enough to qualify as MOCstalgia being as it's from last January, but I missed it then and it's time to correct that oversight. Meet Space Monkey, an awesome intergalactic chimp. I love the subtle pose-ability and expressive eyebrows of this character build. He seems to be part of a bigger story, a story that I want to know.

Target Practice

Mark of Falworth's new MOC is based off of the game Age of Empires II, which I know zilch about. But on its own terms, it's very well-made, and brings back fond memories of the LEGO castle sets from the 90's. 

Soundwave

This is LEGO Transformers action taken to the next level. Meet Soundwave, by MortalSwordsman, based on the classic toy and character. Not only does this fully transform without removing pieces, but it's got three minions that transform from cassettes that fit in the chest, brilliant!

Falcon Coffee Table

Just last night I was having a snack while watching Star Wars The Force Awakens and lamenting the fact that I don't have a coffee table. That got me thinking about what kind of table I would want, and I really had no clue. But thanks to builder lysanderchau I have a better idea. Check out this UCS Millennium Falcon coffee table! When faced with the difficult challenge of available space in small Hong Kong apartments lysanderchau solved the problem by building this combination display/table. And sure, you could just put your Falcon in a glass box and have a place for your cheese and crackers, but he also decked it out to look like docking bay 327 on the Death Star! 

Unclean Rhythmic Gyrations

Would you believe I've never seen the movie Dirty Dancing? I don't really have anything against it, I'm just not interested in it. But I've seen enough of it in passing and out of context over the years that I knew who this pair by Vitreolum was instantly. And now I have Time Of My Life stuck in my head...so...thanks for that I guess.

Steampunk Gundam

Mashups are all the rage, you can't go anywhere without seeing a Star Wars this or a Doctor Who that. But just taking two or more beloved franchises or themes and mashing them together isn't enough, there's got to be a clever hook, some humor or in the case of this Steampunk Gundam by M<0><0>DSWIM, totally badassery. I want to see this thing storming the battlefield, I want to hear the chuff and joints squeal, I want to smell the coal burning. This thing is awesome.

Epic Struggle In The Desert

While playing Elder Scrolls Online The Thieves' Guild builder Xenomurphy stumbled upon this scene. He was so inspired he decided to recreate it in bricks. It shows the aftermath of a great struggle between men and beast, and in the end, nobody won. This is storytelling in a single image/MOC and it's really well done. Oh, and that curved sand dune is especially cool.

Pullman Dining Car

There was a time when people traveled in style, and eight course meals with white glove service was certainly an important part of that.  Imagine Rigney has built, for the Colorado Railroad Museum's Eating on the Rails exhibit, this luxurious Pullman dining car.  According to Imagine, this train car wasn't designed for any particular gauge track or scale, but is as accurate as possible for a mid nineteenth century dining car.  The interior is stately, with all the appointments one would expect during this era, including the fully stocked bar.  "I'll have a single malt, neat, my good man!"

Misty Night On The Bayou

Lighting and atmosphere add so much to a photo, and it doesn't have to be a complex setup to be very effective. This awesome diorama shot by MassEditor was accomplished with simple lighting and a liberal application of a fog machine, but the effect is stunning, and sets a perfect mood. Can't you just hear the frogs and insects? The faint, slow banjo playing in the distance? The MOC itself is very good, but combined with creative photography it's a home run.

Fashionable Steam

This gentleman and lady are all ready for an elegant night out. And they'll arrive in style and expedience with this lovely steam powered automobile by Moko. It's not just the latest technology, it's fashionable with it's deep forrest green paint, gold and silver plated details, and smart spoked rims. They'll be the talk of the town tonight for sure. And if they aren't the talk of the town it's probably because everyone was distracted by the huge bipedal steam powered walker.

Ready

I don't know who this guy is, in fact I don't even know it's a guy. I don't know where he or she is, or what they're doing. But the title of this pic is "I AM READY", and I have to agree, whoever it is they do look ready indeed, ready for anything. Unless that is of course we're talking about showering, then I don't think that helmet is going to be very compatible with shampooing. Or brunch, this uniform would not be very comfortable for dining on copious amounts of shrimp at a buffet. Or playing Wii Bowling...

An excellent MOC and photograph by SweStar.

A Whole Lot Of Harry Potter MOCs

Taking on a build-a-day challenge is not for the faint-hearted. I could never do this, not without some sort of benefactor sponsorship and a lot of help with all the other tasks of running BrickNerd. But builders marcu44 and 'rolli are just crazy (crazy talented) enough to take this challenge on. Last month marcu44 succeeded in rolling out 27 awesome MOCs based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (which I failed to cover, I have no excuse) and this month his friend 'rolli is attempting a build a day for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The effort, detail and caliber of all these MOCs can be described as nothing less than magical. The question is, who is going to step up for Prisoner of Azkaban, are you up to the challenge?