Take a tour of BrickNerd studios in Lompoc California! I had the honor of presenting the keynote at Brickslopes 2016 last night and this was part of it. My talk was about being a nerd, about listening to that inner voice and being creative, about being fearless with your passion. But I also tried to have some fun with it and stuck this stupid thing in the middle. I really can't help myself sometimes you know?
When I was a kid I had a Spirograph, and I was endlessly fascinated with it. The patterns generated by intersecting arcs of motion were as interesting as the mechanical process that created them. Now builder and mechanical mastermind JK Brickworks bring this process to LEGO with a simple but elegant machine. And he published the instructions on his website so you can build your own.
The Martian was an incredible movie. From the premise and the drama, to the humor and the production design, it's top notch filmmaking. And this Martian inspired MOC by Bricking It is top notch building. This is also top notch presentation. At first glance this looks like a still from the movie, with the martian terrain in the background and the careful lighting of the rover. Superb work!
Hulk, have you been juicing? Hitting the bricks lately? Don't get me wrong, you look good. In fact, I prefer a brick-built look to the standard bigfig. He's mean, he's green, he's got motion, he's got personality, and wow is he big! And just look at those pecs and abs. LEGO bricks seems to be the way to go for that summer body.
If you think this Hulk is incredible, then you definitely have to check out Flickr user Nicolas PICOT's other brick-built figures.
It's the Weasley family homestead! From the Harry Potter series, if you're not already familiar. Marcel V. presents his largest moc to date, and what a build it is. Ingenious techniques abound in this display, and Marcel gives credit where credit is due. If you happen to be at the Comic Con in Germany, you can see it in person. And yes, Harry, it is brilliant!
One of the real crowd pleasers at BrickWorld Chicago was VirtuaLUG's Miniland Putt Putt collaboration, and one of the contributors was BrickNerd's own El Barto. This is his Star Trek inspired segment of the course, inspired by the episode The Apple. I haven't played miniature golf in ages, but if the courses where more like this, I think I'd be more inclined to go...because Vaal calls to me. Let us go to him. He hungers...for balls.
Often, a good LEGO build hints at a backstory, but a great one tells a story of its own. This fairly simple build by legophthalmos showing a samurai warrior departing for battle is an excellent example of how to effectively tell a complex story with a visual medium like LEGO. The thought-provoking narrative shown here, combined with some very slick building, makes for an impressive overall effect.
While I would prefer my hamburger patty between two buns, and my eggs scrambled, this yummy looking meal by nobu_tary looks delicious. It's also a testament to thinking outside the brick...I mean box. Not many would look at Commander Cody's shoulder pauldron and think "egg yolk".
Collaborative builds, especially on this scale, are hard to cover and do justice to the MOCs. After months of work, the builder group GamerLUG (Nick Brick, Lego Junkie, Si-MOCs, DR.Church, Masked Builder, Alec_D, EdgelessAbyss) combined forces to present a show stopping and trophy winning Borderlands 2 display. As much as I'd like to feature every individual MOC, there's just not enough time, so I'll invite you to visit all these builders' individual Flickr streams and check out the video.
This heavy melee mech by Gamabomb looks ready to pummel. The unconventional proportions, color combinations and distinctive features (like that blade-like head!) all add up to a very compelling, battle-ready robot. There's so many wonderful little details on this I don't know where to start, so I'll just invite you to gawk like I am.
The unveil of builder Tim Lydy's brilliant Batman MOCs continues. This time it's Scarecrow, the homicidal hallucinogen-using psychopath. As unsettling as Nolan's Scarecrow was, the Arkhamverse version is truly the thing of nightmares and Tim has captured his essence perfectly in this beautifully frightful character MOC.
No, that's not a typo, it's a pun. Anyway, Guy Smiley posted this absolute beast of a mech. It looks incredibly utilitarian and rugged, what with the combination of smooth armor panels and greebly mechanical bits. The builder says this is a vertical tank, and I couldn't agree more. This thing could totally demolish whatever it met on the battlefield.
I always love a good collaborative build, and this one by Si-mocs and Zachmoe is no exception. Zach built the spaceship and Simon built the shipyard around it. Both parts are equally fantastic: the ship has wonderful color blocking and gorgeous shaping, and the shipyard is packed with lots of clever micro-scale details. I especially love the little trucks made from roller skates and the genius two-piece tanks.
Visitors of Brickworld Chicago got to see this (as well as many more) in person, and I'll admit to a slight tinge of jealously. Tim Lydy's Batman collection was one of the highlights of the show, and looking at Two-Face here I can see why. The sculpture work is amazing, but it's also oozing with character. I can't wait to see the rest of these.
If you think this ship by Tim Schwalfenberg is cool, just imagine a whole fleet! You may recall his Corvette, Missile Frigate, and of course, the Vaygr Battlecruiser. And if that isn't enough for you, imagine playing a game of Battleship with giant LEGO ships. That's exactly what happened at this year's Brickworld! But I'll get to all that in a future post. So for now, admire the style and detail Tim put into this sci-fi creation. That takes serious skill. But tossing it up in the air to watch it smash into a million pieces? That takes guts!
BrickWorld Chicago has come and gone, and for those who missed out here are my favorites from the show:
Timothy Lydy is master at character building. His Classic Joker Bust is a favorite within the LEGO Community and this year at BrickWorld he displayed an array of Gotham characters. His Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, A.K.A The Penguin, is just fantastic. The use of a minifigure magnifying glass for a monocle, the fur and tooth piece for his crooked nose makes this Gentleman of Crime come to life.
Another favorite of mine by Timothy is his Mad Hatter. There's just so much good stuff going on here I cant even pick which I like more. I will say though that he found a way to use the printed blue slopes that I would not have thought of! Timothy's setup was nominated for Best Individual Layout!
I think everyone at the event this weekend would agree that this creation by Amanda Feuk, titled Imagine made everyone stop to check out.
Amanda uses piece placement to create a projection of a girl. This creation took home Best Artwork award!
Builder CheeseyStudios displayed this year an awesome layout titled "Fantastic Beasts". This creation is based of the JK Rowling textbook and upcoming spinoff movie in the Harry Potter universe. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is about a wizard, Newt Scamander, and his adventures on finding and capturing these creatures. Builder Caleb shows us some of these creatures, along with quotes that describe the dangers of the beast. Click through to see the full layout:
Caleb's Hogwarts Train was nominated for the Best Train award!
If you're thinking of checking out a convention next year, BrickWorld Chicago is definitely not one to miss!
Admittedly it's been a while since I've last seen this lamp in action (Toy Story 3 might've been it). But who can deny that the sound effects, the rhythm, and the actions of this little lamp hasn't been burned into our memory?
The lamp, or Luxo Jr., is cleverly recreated by Flickr user yu chris out of a combination of LEGO System and Technic parts. I could be wrong, but it really does look functional and bendy. You stomp that letter I till it's gone!
Around this time last year Japan was experiencing Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time. It was released about a month later than everywhere else in the world (as most movies are) but once we got it, we went mad over it. And to tell you the truth, I'm still not over it. Fury Road was a perfect movie. That's what this MOC by Kirill Mazurov has in common with the movie. It's PERFECT! We've seen a ton of brick-built cars from and inspired by the movie, but Technic Mad Max cars are still few and far between.
One of the advantages to this Technic model is its inherit robustness. It looks ready to kick ass and take a beating like a champ. From the dual V8s, the tanker, and to the fuel pod, every detail seems to be recreated with an amazing balance of functionality and fashion. Be sure to check out all the other cool shots in his album.
Wookiewarrior has created the most accurate (in shape, color, and size) golden Snitch I have ever seen in LEGO! This is truly a masterpiece worthy of display, from a wizard of a builder. I can't speak for the interior structure of this build, but I think it would be super cool if you could actually throw it around with friends. I should also mention the awesome use of the wings from the recent Ant-Man Final Battle set, which are very realistic to the actual Snitch. A very cool, unique, and magical build!
Fans of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy should recognize the MacGuffin of the film, the Orb, an ancient and mysterious artifact of unspeakable power. Everybody wants it (at least until they know what it is) and Ronan will stop at nothing to possess it. Builder buriedbybricks masterfully recreates the prop in brick form. The use of the Death Star halves here, as well as the fiber optics, is inspired.
Welcome back to some spooky BrickNerd Quick Builds! We have two treats for you today. The theme for our LEGO instructions is Halloween with witches, spiders, crows and a grave!
Did you know there is a LEGO convention held inside a world-renowned glass museum? Let’s step through the looking-glass together and learn what BrickNerd contributors Ted Andes and Daniel Zimmerman found at Empire Brick Con.
Galidor. A retired theme with a cult following, nearly universally hated by all. Just look at it. What part of this makes you think “LEGO?” Today we’ll take a look at the horrors of Galidor.
Shrek’s fairy-tale cast has arrived in LEGO minifigure form, but does everyone get a happily ever after? We take a close look at the movie references, a few puzzling design choices, and some useful parts for Castle builders.
What are the best ways to score cheap LEGO? If you’re willing to go to some effort, hidden LEGO pops up all over the place. In today’s guest article, Molly Patton shares her stories and tips at finding low-priced LEGO.
Are you one of those people that has a perpetually messy building table? If so, you are not alone. Ted Andes comes out in defense of creative clutter and pleads the case for there being a method-to-the-madness of a messy building table. Read on to find out why a little bit of disorganization can be a good thing.
What happens when you turn a LEGO pirate ship into a Great Ball Contraption? Brian Hickey and his family find out, building a working module and learning a few hard lessons when it joins the GBC loop at BrickCon.
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No bones about it, BrickNerd fans, we’ve got some interesting connections for you today. Will explores the old LEGO skeleton, digs up several curiosities, and resurrects Belville to tickle your funny bone!