Into the Future. . .and Beyond!

Cesbrick has long been one of my favorite builders.  Typically, he builds in the medieval / fantasy theme, but today he has something completely new and different:  a SHIP!  Personally, this is my favorite model I have seen for SHIPtember 2016.  The color choices used in this model are perfect, and what's even better is the fact that there is a perfect balance between them.  The subtle amounts of light gray mixed into the white is very pleasing to the eyes.  Furthermore, there are excellent examples of greebling all over this creation, and finally those fancy rings that wrap around this futuristic vessel - super cool!  Already looking forward to next year's SHIPtember! 

Franken

I love a MOC that instantly conjures visions of scenes and scenarios. The moment I saw this construction mech by Moko, I saw teams of identical mechs busy at work constructing a futuristic building. Each one dutifully going about it's workday lifting, welding, fastening and moving. What a wonderful sight that would be.

The Ervana

Remember that ship Han Solo used to capture the Millennium Falcon in The Force Awakens? Yeah, me neither. It doesn't have much screen time, and you don't get a good look at it really, at least from the outside. We see plenty of the interior, during the rathtar (not to be confused with Raptar, from Rugrats) scene, but it's one of the scenes I'd rather forget. So I honestly didn't recognize this SHIP by builder Forgotten Days when I first looked at it. But I find that encouraging because I was ready to blog it before I knew it was from Star Wars, so maybe I'm not completely biased (spoiler alert, I'm completely biased).

Viper Mark II

As a BSG fan, this Mark II jumped right off the screen at me.  But when I read that it's actually over 100 studs long, I was struck: "No frakin' way!?!"  Chris Maddison has built a mega scale version of the iconic Colonial aerospace superiority fighter.  He's captured all of those sexy curves and angles which are a real challenge at the mini-fig scale.  And there's still plenty of room for tasty greebles on the side of the fuselage and around the engines.  Okay, Chris, time to go shoot some toasters!!

Curvy Carrier

As most of you know (unless your internet has been down for a month), SHIPtember is almost over, which means that lots of ships are finally starting to pop up. Tim Schwalfenberg's latest sci-fi offering is very unorthodox (in the best possible way). Lots of spaceships are very angle-y, with plenty of hard edges. Tim's ship, however, is almost entirely curvy, making for an extremely eye-catching design. I particularly like the few trans-light blue accents; they really go well with the white and gold.

Prepare To Be Devoured

While I wasn't much into comics as a kid (and really I'm still not as an adult) I did enjoy a few from time to time. Spiderman and Ironman were always my favorite, but being from California, the Silver Surfer always caught my attention when I could find it. While I don't recall ever seeing Galactus in any of them, I've spent enough time around Brandon Griffith to recognize this MOC by Adam Dodge instantly. BrickCon will be devoured for sure.

BrickCon Is Nigh - It's Madness!

I'm scrambling to make all the last minute preparations before heading off to Seattle for BrickCon 2016. Me and my PIC Iain Heath are ready for some serious Bricks of Character action this year, and very happy to be celebrating the awesome theme, Madness!

Madness has always been a favorite band of ours, so we're going "skall-out" to celebrate. I finally finished my MOC yesterday and can't wait to see it on the BOC table with all the rest of the awesome MOCs you all bring.

And here's the trophies we're going to be handing out, minus their engraved brick, those will be added at the last minute. 

I can't wait to see all my friends and make some new ones. If you're going to be at the con or visiting during the public days track me down to say "hi" and get some BrickNerd swag. See you all there!

Tsar Gorokh

I have a strong affinity for brick-built characters. It's usually much more interesting to look at than a simple minifig. Vir-a-cocha's Tsar is a really charming little build. I know next to nothing about Russian fairytales, which this MOC is apparently inspired by, but it can still be appreciated on its own terms. Love the little detail of his feet curling in.

Caterham Seven Comes Full Circle

When I built the new LEGO Ideas Caterham Seven live on Sunday, the designer Carl Greatrix stopped by to chat a bit an revealed that he had just finished modifying the set to restore some of the lost features. Wrap your head around that...he designed a set, submitted it, got 10k votes, LEGO accepted it, a designer from LEGO re-engineered it (standard procedure) and made some changes to make it practical to produce, it's released, and then the designer re-engineers it to bring back lost features (like steering!). It's a convoluted path, but the results are pretty stunning. 

Vintage Racing

I don't think there could be a more stark contrast than comparing modern race cars to their vintage counterparts. But will all the advancements in safety, aerodynamics, horsepower and materials, something of the spirit of the originals has been lost. Of course the end goal all along as been to go faster than the other guys, but man were the vintage cars beautiful. This recreation of a 1930's era car by builder redfern1950s is absolutely gorgeous, and really captures the feel of what it was to be built for speed in a time when craftsmanship still mattered.

Holden Brute

Normally you might use a pickup for hauling stuff. I mean, hay bales, party kegs, furniture and boxes and boxes of LEGO aren't going to deliver themselves. But in the case of this badass pickup by builder Lino M, it's purpose in life is to do two things: go very fast, and make a heck of a lot of noise while it does it.

BrickNerd Live Build - Caterham Seven

I've only ever seen a Caterham Seven in the wild once, at a mall in Irvine CA, but I was instantly smitten. Of course I've seen Caterham cars on TopGear many time, but seeing it in person was different. It's an unusual beast, with a energy even when parked. Well now I get to build one, and you should join me while I do it. It's guaranteed 13% more exciting than watching bananas discolor in real-time. Building starts at 10am PST, see you then!

Oktoberfest

This is a fun concept. It's a vignette built of smaller hinged vignettes, that can be reconfigured in many ways for display or play. This one is obviously Oktoberfest inspired, with some beer affectionados enjoying some brew, but I can see this being infinitely reconfigurable by adding additional modules, and of course theming. I mean, how cool would it be so see a Star Wars cantina, or a wild west saloon, or a space station. The possibilities are endless.

Small Moments From A Galaxy Far Far Away

I'm really enjoying this series of pictures inspired by Star Wars: A New Hope by builder CozzD. Some are recreations of iconic shots, some are fanciful interpretations, all are top notch lighting and photography. There's even a few with some additional visual effects like smoke, blaster bolts and impacts, all very well done. Click through to see several more pics.

LiveBuild Tomorrow!

The fine folks at LEGO were kind enough to send me a copy of the gorgeous new Caterham 7 Ideas set, and I want to build it with YOU! We don't see many of these cool cars here in the states (unless you hang out in Beverly Hills or know Simon Cowell) so they're extra exotic here. I can't wait to build it!

Join me live tomorrow morning at 10am PST, see you then! 

Brick-Mojis

Seeing these last night warmed my nerd heart. It's been far too long since we've seen a character build from Ochre Jelly, so seeing these made me a bit... (wait for it)... emotional (you're welcome).  Me and Iain met through the power of character builds, and the category of Bricks of Character was born because of it. So to my brother-in-BOC, good to see you in fine form again.

S.S. Helios

Sean and Steph Mayo make their triumphant return to the building community with the S.S. Helios, a bombastic starship chock full of great techniques! I especially love the use of the Elves keys, the rows of bright yellowish-orange dishes, and most of all the great texture achieved with the 1x1 round tile hexagons!

Teensy Tiny Space Battle

There have been lots and lots and lots of interpretations of the iconic X-wing and TIE fighter over the years, but I don't think any quite as tiny-yet detailed as Grantmasters'. Even if there's one I'm forgetting, six and three pieces to a ship, respectively, is pretty darned impressive, and the greeble background works quite well given the small size.

Bento Box

The Japanese have elevated "lunch to go" to practically an art form, with an endless variation of boxes, food and creative presentation. Who wouldn't want to take a break from their busy work day and dig into one of these? Certainly more appetizing than a brown paper bag. I can't speak to the nutritional value of this bento box lunch from builder nobu_tary, but it's certainly got appeal. 

Finding Dory

Is there anything quite as cheery as a collection of Pixar characters? From the early days of Toy Story and Bugs Life to the modern era, Pixar has been doing it right. Builder Archimedes Chen brings us this charming group of undersea life from Finding Dory. Each has just as much personality as their silver screen counterparts.