Heart of Plastic

Tim Lydy's Forms of Gotham series has been getting a lot of coverage here on BrickNerd lately, but I can't help drawing attention to his most recent model: Mr. Freeze. Victor Fries has always been one of my favorite members of Batman's rogues gallery, both in character content and appearance - I love his eerie representation in the Arkham video game series, which this model seems to take inspiration from. The model has a lot of dark colors, so I recommend checking Lydy's stream to more views of this great model.

Dragon Attack!

Just look at that Dragon. Its AWESOME! The parts use here is superb, a million illegal connections, excellent. The castle isn't to shabby either. This Micro scale MOC by Guy Smiley would make a superb set, if it wasn't for all those not so legit connections! Gonna go and see if I can make my own little (big) Dragon!

Pull To Inflate

When we were seeing the first photos of the cast of characters for The Force Awakens, I remember that there were some articles online about Poe Dameron and what the Aurebesh text on his flight vest said.  It translated to "PULL TO INFLATE".  Oh man was I excited.  Don't get me wrong and I'm not being sarcastic.  It's the little details like this that make the movies immersive to me.

Takamichi Irie has made one of his coolest models yet.  This 1:1 scale Resistance pilot's helmet and life support unit belong to Poe Dameron, but the 1:1 scale LEGO Poe is nowhere to be found!  The details on the helmet are spectacular.  The Rebel logo is integrated into the spherical brickwork at an angle, the visor curves all the way around and looks like it actually protects the eyes, and the simple box shaped life support unit is just so smooth.  I'm a sucker for smooth things made out of LEGO.

Survival Starts In The Core

Anyone who follows E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) might recognize this little guy from a beautiful game introduced to us in 2015. ReCore is a secret to most of us gamers, all we really know about it is the mysterious girl with a grappling hook and her robot side-kicks. This doesn't stop builders like LEGOJunkie from already creating some of the lovable creatures we are all eager to get to know!

ReCore doesn't launch until September but as long as cute creations like Puppy Mack keep coming out, I'm good to wait :) 

Mountain vs. Red Viper

Game of Thrones is one of my favorite shows. It has great characters, interesting mythology, and ridiculously violent scenes. Paul Trach recreated one of these scenes in bricks, the fight between the Mountain and Red Viper, but thankfully he opted not to recreate the ending of this scene (GoT fans know what I'm talkin' bout). Love that brick-built Mountain!

Luxo Jr

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! 

Brickworld 2016

Another Brickworld is in the bag, and boy was it a brick-tastic few days! We saw a phenomenal amount of new and creative MOCs, and are continually impressed with how the community pushes the medium forward.
If you've never attended a convention before and live in the U.S. Midwest (or anywhere in the world really) I highly recommend that you visit this convention at least once in your lifetime. Brickworld is traditionally held over a long Father's day weekend in June. The convention offers multiple ways to attend including public viewing days however, we do suggest going as a registered attendee for the full experience.

-Bart, Mel, and Philip

"I've Gotta BE The Marble!"

Ryan Rydalch has put together a fantastically artistic scene, showcasing a sculptor in his natural habitat. The monochrome creations surrounding him are pristine and exquisite in their detailing, especially the stag near the back. He also uses some great backgrounds which really bring out the color (or lack thereof) in the piece.

The Flying Scotsman

In my real life I work on the railways in the UK and part of my route is the East Coast Main Line, home of the world famous Flying Scotsman. Just recently this locomotive has returned to the rails after a multi-million pound rebuild (how much is original is debatable, you take something apart enough times, when you put it back together there is enough to build two!) This incredible model by Ryan McNaught is the largest I've ever seen of the iconic steamer. At over 3 metres long, this is one serious "Kettle"! (thats what we call a steam loco).

For Those About to Rock....

I salute you sebastian bachórzewski! This guy's heading off on a highway to hell with his sweet new gee-tar 'cos London's calling! I love the use of the neon LEGO pieces to create the lights in this scene - I can just imagine them illuminating the guitars underneath. The sugar skull details on the punk rocker's top and the flame tattoo on his arm are awesome additions. I can picture this Insomnia's Guitar Heaven being down a side-alley where only the toughest of minifgs would dare to venture. There's probably a tattoo studio next door and a 'biker's bar' opposite blasting music from the juke box....

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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A Delightful Prawn Cocktail

One of my favourite recent sci-fi movies is District 9. The fact that it wasn't the USA being attacked or invaded made it different. I have seen it about five or six times now and every time I see it I see something new.  This MOC of the film poster by Sad Brick in micro scale, really captures the most important part of the film brilliantly, a huge alien space ship just hanging there in the sky! There has been some talk of a sequel, I do hope so!

Frozen Shack

First off, everyone look at the front door of this shack and acknowledge the NPU. I mean, seriously, a boat for a front door it doesn't get much better than that folks! I'm also loving all the angles, so many unnaturally delicious ways jaapxaap has put this house together yet made it look congruent. I am, however, a little disappointed in the lack of murder(?) in this scene, though I am hoping we will see that in part 2 of this build.

Jeepers It's Willy.

Carpet Lego builds some great military items and has built the iconic Willy's Jeep on several occasions. This is his third reworking of this classic WW2 vehicle and I think you will agree it's spot on. I really love the M2 Machine Gun and look forward to seeing the canvas version which he has promised will be revealed soon.

A Blast From The Past

A long time ago in a City far far away I discovered SHIP's. Large Lego Space Ships more than 100 studs long. I was amazed by them, so many different shapes, colours and details. This one, the Centaur LL-72 by Chris Giddens has been a long time favourite. I felt inspired to go and try to build something like this. It has lovely clean lines, enough details to be convincing and maybe a touch of Star Wars about it (in a good way!) I still look back at the SHIP's (Suitably Huge Investment in Parts, I think someone once said) from this time, around 2008 with envious admiration. I did build some SHIP's once, I dropped one, scrapped a few and finally got one on display in 2014, a little late to the party!

This Was The Droid We Were All Looking For!

Lego Megastar Peter Reid has once again come up with a startling mini model. I vaguely remember the Tomy Omnibot from my childhood and this rendition is amazing. Making it look like what I assume is the original advertising finishes the piece nicely. This was built for New Elementary's Nexo-Classic Space Challenge. Its a little worrying that there is a chance of electric shock to children under 6, however I suppose thats the price we pay for having the future now!

Birds From Bricks

One of my friends is into birds, big time! His name is Thomas Poulsom. You might recognise the name from the Lego Ideas set 21301, Birds. Well he has written a book showing how you can build another 15 different birds from all around the world. And I have been lucky enough to have been sent a copy to review. 

I was totally amazed by the original birds Thomas made and so when I heard that there was going to be a book full of bird instructions I was very excited. The book arrived recently and as soon as I opened it up I was blown away by how clear the instructions are laid out. Each bird has a parts list so its easy to get the bits together before you start. The steps are small and the sometimes complicated SNOT techniques are clearly explained. The book is in full colour and there is even a colour key for each bird. 

I thought I would build a bird and see how easy it is to follow the instructions in real life. I chose the Canary (Serinus Canaria), collected up all the parts and built it. It was easy to follow and didn't take too long to finish!. Here is where I found a couple of weak points in the construction. However by adding a couple of plates I was able to strengthen the bird considerably. More an oversight than a fault. Overall the bird looks stunning. The half a stud connections in the wings are delicate but as this is a display model, thats not too important.

I can recommend this book not only if you are into birds but also if you like Creator style builds and are looking for more realism in the finished model. I plan to build a few more birds in the future.  The book is published by Quarry and has a retail price of $24.99/£15.99/$29.99 CAN. Its available at Amazon (use the link on this page!) and is even available as a Kindle download. Nice work Thomas, now where are the instructions to that Hedgehog?

A Master Class in Mecha

I've been laid up at home with an awful illness for the past week and a half, and to pass the time outside of LEGO I've been working on something I've wanted to try my hand at for a long time - a Mobile Suit Gundam master grade model kit. Thus, it seems serendipitous that Chris Darmawan finishes and posts this beauty during the height of my new obsession.

Inspired by a Mobile Suit named "Tief Strumer," this beast looks positively wicked. There's so many cool details all over this thing, and the expertly sculpted head gives it a wonderfully sinister demeanor.

Thank you, Mr. Darmawan, for adding yet another project to my never ending list of MOCs I want to try my hand at.

"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!"