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And there aren't any pop-up ads, either. This massive build by Praetorian- is a minifig-scale recreation of the ancient Roman Forum of Nerva, one of the four Imperial fora, or public squares, in Rome. The architectural details in this are just fantastic, from the columns and wall patterning to the magnificent arch. I really like how clean this build is: all the spotless white makes it look like new, instead of ruined  like the Roman buildings we're used to seeing. I highly recommend viewing more pictures in the Flickr album.

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Every country likes to rattle it's saber, and humans have been squabbling over resources and wealth since we figured out how to walk upright. The governments declare the wars, and their men and women pay the price. This stirring MOC by vir-a-cocha illustrates this all too well, but also has a second more important message, about finding beauty and overcoming circumstances. I can't be easy to carry an accordion with crutches, but this scrappy vet was up to the challenge, and now he can play a little music, for everyone's enjoyment.

Quack Quack, Stomp Stomp

Look out Mechy Mouse, there's some stompy competition in town courtesy of Moko. I'm going to be vacationing at the Disneyland resort in July, so I think there's enough time for the Imagineers to get going on some of these. I mean floats are nice, and I do watch a parade from time to time, but if these were clomping down Main Street, I would so be there.

Bread Winner

The Atkins fad diet had positively no traction at my house. Eliminate bread? Good luck with that, I love bread. But I think I'd love it even more if it was delivered by this absolutely slammed International Harvester Metro van by Lino M. Although it might have some trouble getting up the street with the speed bumps we have in my neighborhood.

Brick Buddies: The Game

How does your scalp feel, Itchy? Good, because builder jtheels has the prescription for that because you'll be scratching your head trying to figure this out. You may have seen his brilliantly simple series of MOCs called Brick Buddies, absolutely basic characters from pop culture, but with the logo or catch phrase from the show or movie they're from it's obvious. Well now he's collected 89 of these blocky little wonders into one place, with no added graphics. How many can you name? Some will be easy, some will be hard, and I'm guessing some will be impossible. Are you up to the challenge?

It Seems To Have Been Deliberately Buried

2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the rare movies that I actually enjoyed more than its over-explanatory book.  Every visual is burned into my memory.  Every sound.  Every bit of dialogue.  Every beat.  I even put that creepy Monolith/Star Gate music on in the summer just to give myself some much-needed chills.  The Excavation Site built by James May (AKA poshhammer) is craftily recreated in minor to major decorative features from the wall textures to the overall symmetrical proportions.  I can almost hear the high pitch screeching.

Get to Da Choppa!

Is that quote too cliche to use? Nah, I'll go with it. This sweet UN chopper by Guy Smiley is definitely the Arnold Schwarzenegger of helicopters. It's big, beefy, and could probably pulverize anything smaller than an elephant. The shaping of the fuselage is very nicely done, and the custom stickers really make it feel authentic. This beast also has some great realistic details, like the winch and the dual engines above the cockpit.

The Journey

As a child I often browsed through the sci-fi section at used book stores just to see the amazing cover art.  There's just something about seeing a bit of sci-fi art completely out of context that stimulates my imagination.  Sometimes I could come up with a story or a single scene to accompany the picture and other times I was just left thinking about what was actually going on in the story.  "The Journey" by SweStar looks like something straight from an obscure sci-fi novella and does not offer a description for why the traveller is approaching a metal-and-icicle tree, and perhaps that is for the best.

Diana Of Themyscira

There's a lot of inspired building in this version of Wonder Woman by ToaLeewan. It seems super simple at first, but that's only because it's so clean. I'm sure we're going to be seeing a lot more of this lovely lady now that she's got her own movie in the works. And if we can just keep Zack Snyder from sinking his mediocre claws into it, it might be good.

High-Fives All Around For Team Stark!

If there's one thing I get a kick out of seeing every time, it's gotta be 1:1 scale movie props recreated in LEGO bricks.  This skin-tight Iron Man gauntlet by Milan Sekiz features plenty of detail crammed in a very limited space that also accommodates flexibility.  Having said that, I now have two serious questions: May I please wear it for Halloween and does it run on a miniature arc reactor or simple CR1025 batteries?

Do You Wanna Play a Game?

Uh oh! Wyldstyle seems to have taken a wrong turn in her quest to find the 'special one'! In this LEGO MoC habitat Vicky Brata has captured Wyldstyle in one of Jigsaw's deadly games. Handcuffed and chained with a key just out of reach, will she make it or will it be Game Over?!

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Your Chariot Awaits

TheRoyalBrick has pulled together some pretty cool themes as a basis for this unique piece. The build incorporates a Pharoah from Ancient Egypt, a futuristic hoverboard and a Warg from Norse mythology. The hoverboard is dual powered - sourcing its energy from the neon pink crystals as well as the Warg's beastly strength. This is a really fun LEGO MoC and I reckon Doc and Marty could use something like this in their time travels!

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Knives and Swords

Pacific Rim was full of giant monsters, giant robots, and giant sharp things to poke your eye out with.  Sounds awesome, right?  Well you know what's even more awesome?  Super giant things in micro LEGO scale!  Grantmasters shrunk everything down to perfect proportions and managed to include an amazing amount of detail in the motion, texture, and coloring in this MOC.  I mean, come on!  Just look those yellow stripes on Knifehead! 

You Can Spin With One, Spin With Two, How You Spin Is Up To You!

I know we had at least one of these at our house when I was a kid, but being that I get barfy just glancing at my phone in a moving car I never cared for it much. It's Sit 'n Spin from jtheels, and it's a blast form the centrifugal past! Yeah, some of the toys from my youth were kinda dumb, but then again so were we (lawn darts anyone?).

I wood like one of these

Builder Steve Guinness doesn't just stick to the ABS.  Here are a couple of pics of his take on the traditional minifig, but in wood. These wonderful woody figs are a foot tall, so perhaps maxifig is more appropriate?  Steve's day job is a teacher of Craft, Design, & Technology. I remember that back in the day we called it Woodwork; then it became Resistant Materials (I was one of those resistant materials myself, but that's another story). Now it's CDT and Steve is rather good at it.  I like the way the grain on the soldier's shako and face matches up. Click through for more figures, including a spaceman and a Unikitty.

One, Two, Tree Reasons to Build Landscapes

I always love it when a good solid landscaping build shows up in my Flickr feed. This build by Markus1984 is a really good example of many different landscaping techniques. The path and rocks are very nicely integrated into the greenery. I particularly like how the path is built at an angle; it makes the build feel a lot more realistic. Also, even though I would normally advise against taking pictures in direct sunlight, it looks great here, since the way the light filters through the LEGO leaves is just gorgeous.

Steampunk Silliness

Creator Lego Fjotten has built three of the most creative (and steamy) steampunk builds I have seen in that genre.  They could be described as "silly," but in the best way possible.  Each build keeps the great color coordination of metallic silver, pearl gold, and brown as you would expect, but manages to make them each so different from the other! I would absolutely love to take any of these for a test drive, but my favorite is definitely the "Steampunk High Wheeler."

Wasteland Roamer

My earliest memory is of my dad building his motorcycle in the garage. It was yellow and orange and that's about as much as I know about motorcycles. Growing up with this however has made me aware of the artistry and effort behind building and maintaining a bike. Builder Stephan Jonsson's chopper is an amazing display of this intricacy. The details put into this creation is what caught my eye, and the subtle use of color brings this hog to life.  

Low Tide

This maritime MOC by O0ger packs a lot of detail and storytelling into a relatively small but very interesting footprint. You can practically smell the salt air and fish, hear the lapping water and ships bells. I don't recall seeing this alternating rows of cones roof technique before, it makes for a very cool texture, but the excellent use of the seaweed is what really sells this diorama. It sets the time and setting in a glance, very effective.

The Surrealistic Adventure That Will Become Your World

I feel very fortunate to grow up when I did. I witnessed the 80's first hand (they were rad), saw the transition from air to cable, then from analog to digital, and experienced the personal computer revolution. I was also there for one of the most intriguing phenomenons of early PC gaming, Myst. Myst was like no game before it, and had graphics and animation that absolutely rocked the gaming world. It was immersive, it was rich, it was addicting and it was fun. This outstanding MOC by Vitreolum makes me want to revisit that world, which I can now do with a device that fits in my pocket (mind blowing)... I witnessed that revolution too.