To Da Moon!

It seems to me that the "One small step for man" would be a bit smaller here, considering this is LEGO. Dorian Glacet built this awesome Apollo lunar lander and moon rover. The lander uses some clever techniques and looks very accurate (to my untrained eye, at least). But my favorite part of the build is the set of tracks left behind the rover. It looks very cool and really evokes some of those pictures the astronauts took on the moon.

EDIT: This model by Dorian is actually a reworking and representation of a lunar lander built by Saabfan. So, since credit needs to go where it is due, I wanted to mention both builders here. This is a good example of how work from two equally skilled builders can be combined to great effect.

Rogue One: Secret Room Scene

Ha!  I beat Tommy to a Star Wars post!!!  Gotta appreciate Markus19840420's attention to detail and cinematography in this shot.  At first I figured it was just another one of those post-some-minifigs-over-the-still-shot deals, but oh no, that's all LEGO.  The scene was built for a contest called IDSMO IV, which is a German Star Wars Moc Olympics.  But it's more than a nifty build, it's the mastery of the two art forms of LEGO and photography.  Well done, Markus! 

Quite Possibly The Single Greatest Use Of Bananas Ever

Sometimes it's not the obscurity of a part that makes it a NPU (nice part use). Everyone has a banana or two, at one point last year we had over 100 in the studio for a particular animation gig, but the thought of using them as thatching on a roof, like this brilliant treehouse MOC by theogiulia never occurred to me. What a fantastic use of a totally mundane part.

Checking In On The Goblet Of Fire

These MOCs are part of an absolutely epic undertaking by the latest member of a small team of dedicated Harry Potter and LEGO fans. Each is a small vignette representing a notable scene from the legendary book series. These are from The Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series, and are built by Xenomurphy, who took up the mantle from builders MarcelV, 'rolli and Kevin Wollert. Each is a small piece of a larger story, and a story unto itself.

Quidditch

This sort of build warms my heart. This phenomenal quidditch pitch by builder britsnap1 is a father/son project and obviously a labor of love. It measures over seven and a half feet and is populated with a full audience of sports loving minifigures. A fevered match is in progress, and while I can't really tell, I'm betting Gryffindor is winning. Harry Potter himself would be proud.

Steamy Pew Pew

The distinguished gentleman know that when it comes to personal defense, there's absolutely no reason that the apparatus need be without style or panache. The Winchester Action Thermal Steam Operated Neutralizer, or WATSON Pistol is just the thing for standing down a rogue and doing it with flair. Now available at Higby and Bloque, and wherever fine firearms are sold.

Watchtower Of Orodruin

Everywhere you look at this scrappy watchtower by Tim Schwalfenberg you'll see two things: A very interesting technique, and something unconventional. From the craggy brickwork at the base of the tower, to the cobbled railing at the top, and from the uneven stairs on the left to the boulder rock work on the right, it's amazing. I have to admit I think this would probably give me fits though, it looks so fragile I wouldn't want to stand anywhere near it while simultaneously needing to get a good close look at it.

Check Mate

Ok so I've got to admit, I'm not a massive fan of the LEGO Friends sets (mainly I just don't like the figures) but SuzEaton has won me over with this chess set. Each piece is themed, including a skier, halloween witch, DJ and bakers. The queen piece is represented by a prom queen and the king features one of the Friends as a mechanic. I strongly suggest checking out the individual pieces via the album. This half of the board fits together with a LEGO Elves themed board built by Suz's husband.

Plowing Forward

I love the sense of motion and drama in this MOC by monstrophonic. Here in sunny California, we don't have to contend with much snow, but I've seen some video of trains auto clearing snow from their own tracks and it's spectacular. Well, it's spectacular from a comfortable chair watching YouTube, I imagine in person it's a bit terrifying.

Furious Fowl

I don't really have anything against Angry Birds, well, mostly. I actually own the Star Wars version of the game (of course I do) and I'm pretty terrible at it. When I heard they were making a movie, well I just sighed, for Hollywood is officially out of ideas. I haven't seen it, and probably won't, but that doesn't diminish my appreciation of this brilliant micro build by vitreolum. There's a sense of story here, of contemplation, of calm before the storm. And I'm saying this about a little MOC based on a movie I haven't seen based on a silly game that's 7 years old...impressive.

Pit Droid

It's become somewhat cool to dis the Star Wars prequels, but I was doing it before it was cool. While The Phantom Menace is arguably the worst of the three, it does have a few redeeming qualities, and these little dudes are one of them. Pit Droids, like this one from nobu_tary, were maintenance robots in the pit areas of pod racers. But they're skills just may have extended past that, because that scene was one of the other redeeming qualities of the film...coincidence?

There Is A House. Like No House On Earth....

....and it belongs to the Mad Hatter. This ridiculously insane creation is by Brick Blue Wren and is bursting with detail. From the chandelier to the Hatter's hats - there's even a collection of feathers, bows and hat boxes. The spiral staircase within the hat-shaped structure comes complete with a handrail built from LEGO levers and the knobs appear to be a pair of chocolate muffins! It gets curiouser and curiouser the more you look!

And... Boom!

As much as we all love seeing enormous, complex, meticulously detailed LEGO creations, it's hard to deny the appeal of a clean and simple build, like this brilliant little scene from Letranger Absurde. It's not mind-blowingly huge or complicated, but it's entirely awesome. In fact, its simplicity just serves to highlight the genius NPU in the mushroom cloud.

Ushakov's Flying Submarine

Yeah, the Soviets really built one of these!   Ciamosław Ciamek has created a model of this obscure and fascinating piece of engineering history.  Designed by Boris Ushakov in the 1930s, then tested in the 1940s, the project unfortunately never seemed to "take off,"  and was cancelled in 1953.  However, with today's technology, it's possible that someone may revisit the concept.  That would be wicked!

Hey, You Knocked My Block Off!

Is there any more wholesome form of childhood entertainment than to watch two robots beat the crap out of each other until one is hideously disfigured? Yeah, I didn't think so. Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots was a go-to favorite when I was a kid, and this wonderful miniature version by Bruce Lowell makes me want to engage in robot battle even though I'm adult...I mean manchild.

Parts Is Parts

Keko is having an existential crisis, and you might be able to relate to it, for nothing is what it seems. At first glance this looks like a small plastic model contemplating the sum of his parts on the sprue. But take a closer look, that's all LEGO. Another mind-bending MOC from Legoloverman.

Oh, that 'cutting mat' he's standing on? That's LEGO too... *boom*

A Recreated Classic

When most people think of LEGO and Disney together, they think it's a fairly recent collaboration, think again. Way back when LEGO was a wooden toy manufacturer Pluto was a popular product, in fact, it's the first licensed product LEGO ever made. Although no one seems to be sure what year it was released, it was probably in the early 1940's. Builder, author and AFOL community legend Joe Meno has recreated this classic with a charming style that just has to be born of true Disney magic.

Coming Soon To A Galaxy Near You

The force is strong with Flickr this morning, due in part to the ImperiumderSteine MOC Olympics., and that make my nerd heart happy. This absolutely brilliant poster from episode IV by builder Gamabomb takes me back to my childhood, where I spent all of the summer of 1978 watching Star Wars practically every day, many times twice a day. And every trip to the theater started with a brief pause to admire this poster hanging outside.

I Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing

It's a Star Warsriffic morning here at BrickNerd, and I'm totally ok with that. This interior diorama by Boba-1980 is so clean that it's actually deceptive. There's a whole lot of detail and clever building going on here, in a compact and wonderful recreation from an iconic scene from the greatest movie of all time (my opinion of course, but your argument is invalid).