"Diabolically Simple!"

Captainsmog has begun what looks like a fantastic new series of MOCs based on a cartoon classic - the Wacky Races! Sure, every episode had the same basic premise, but this show still holds a place in my heart, full of memories of Boomerang re-runs from the mid-2000s. His series starts with a great rendition of the most famous car of the series, the Mean Machine - and he's already posted the second MOC, which you can check out on his Flickr page.

Squiggly Lines....From Space!

I think Arrival, this month's new sci-fi film, is easily one of the best films of the year so far, and what improves a film more than a LEGO interpretation? Simon Liu does a great job with that with a clever design of the unique "writing" in the film, which really captures the tone of the scene quite well.

They Have A Machine!

On Wednesday I was one of 100 lucky AFOLs to go to the new Lego Store in London before it officially opened to the public. The store is the largest Lego brand retail store in the world and has two floors of Lego loveliness. There was a well documented scratch card giveaway of the Lester mini figure mascot (I did not win one) I did however win a go on their new Lego Mosaic Machine. This is essentially a photo booth that turns your face into instructions to make a Lego mosaic of it! It comes with a box (set number 40179) of 4500 1x1 plates in 5 colours (900 of each) and a 48x48 baseplate. Normally it retails in the store for £99.99 but as it contains nearly £240.00 worth of lego (at Shop at Home prices) its a bargain. But better than that you have your own super exclusive lego set! And I will share that with you here, no copying it now, I can trust y'all?

Catbus

It was just the other day I blogged about a My Neighbor Totoro MOC, and now another great one has appeared! This creation by CK Tsang is based on the magical Catbus creature from the film. The use of the eyes from the Doctor Strange set is fantastic, and the Catbus' (slightly unsettling) expression is captured perfectly.

Bienvenue À Paris!

Love me some macro creations - it requires a specific kind of skill of simplicity that is very difficult for some of us builders. We are eager to fill spaces with as much detail as possible and the beauty of micro/macro building is that ability to pull back and focus on only the minimum. LegoJalex treats us to this neat scene of the Eiffel Tower, using a minifigure hand for the famous landmark. 

Fun fact about the Eiffel Tower: The tower is repainted every 7 years by hand. The weight of the paint alone weights as much as 10 elephants. 

PATA-PATA-PATA-PON

I'm a gamer that likes anything artistic and/or cute so you would think that Patapon would be my jam right? THINK NOT. Don't let these cute little guys deceive you, they are menacing and vicious as long as you can keep rhythm...unfortunately for them there is not a single rhythmic bone in my body. 

This creation by Leonid An is so darn cute that I may just swallow my frustration and attempt to pick up Patapon again. Whats so neat about this build is that the game is 2-dimensional, so creating a character in this shaping and dimension is quite impressive! 

Content Warning: Too Much Awesome

Paul is one of those builders that make you question whether you should continue to build anything cool with LEGO. He's already built the most amazing things ever, so why bother anymore right? 

Last week he posted this beautiful Steamy-punky goodness, and I needed to recover for a few days. Too much awesome in one day can really mess with your brain. 

The amount of detail in this creation is just amazing, check out his profile for some close up shots and a bit of story. 

Then after I recovered, he goes and posts ANOTHER mind blowing creation based on Day of the Dead:

Color choices, and the patterns are my favorite with these creations. The symmetry is something too to admire. 

PAUL WINS GUYS, LET'S JUST ALL GO HOME 

My Neighbor Totoro

Studio Ghibli's masterpiece My Neighbor Totoro is one of the most charming animated films ever made, in large part due to the titular character. Vincent made a great MOC of Totoro that captures his likeness perfectly. I also really dig the little details he included, like the raindrops on his umbrella. I wonder if his cat is secretly a catbus?

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Welcome to Sanctuary

I absolutely adore micro models that tell so much of a story! Builder Galaktek has easily become a person I love to see new things from. His latest creation is described as a folding box, usually carved or painted, that is a keepsake for visitors of the Sanctuary; "Its design represents their experience, which can be held close inside, or unfolded to share the peace of the Sanctuary". The build "unfolds" like described; and can also come apart, allowing the four seasons to separate and be fitted like a box. Galaktek's story of the Sanctuary is as beautiful as the build itself, check detail images and the story below!

Sanctuary of Four Seasons

The Sanctuary rises from a ridge overlooking four valleys, famed for the clarity of their seasons. People from the region may be admitted to the Sanctuary for a period of secluded reflection -- traditionally, in Spring, for those who have just ended their education; in Summer, for those recently recovered from a life-threatening illness; in Autumn, for those who have completed their life work; or in Winter, for those who have lost a loved one. 

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.

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.

Bugging Out

There are few more scary things than Giant Space Bugs. Starship Troopers is one of my favourite Sci-Fi action films. And its the Bugs that make it the more terrifying! This superb MOC by Sanellukovic shows two large bugs stomping around the ruins of some civilisation. It seems to have been built for a competition on a German LUG but I would love to see it expanded into a full Post Apocalyptic landscape crawling with Giant Space Bugs. A shiver actually went down my spine!

Bowser

Mario Bros. is one of my all-time favorite video game series, in large part due to its diverse cast of fun, unique characters. One of which is Bowser, Mario's long-time arch nemesis and general thorn-in-the-side. Nathanial has immortalized King Koopa himself in bricks, and it's fantastic. Gotta love him posing with the infamous Blue Koopa shell. 

Oh, What a Day for Racing!

Cecilie has been rocking some fantastic StarWars creations lately for the Moc-Olympics. We've featured her previous entry here on BrickNerd just a few weeks ago and we're constantly in amazement (and sometimes between bidding wars on who gets to blog) what she builds next! Cecilie's entry for potential 3rd place, is number one winner in my books, Teemto Pagalies' Podracer. Not only is the color choices spectacular, the whole creation defies gravity. Watch out racers, this is not a pod you want to mess with! 

THE BIG-O

If you've never seen it, I highly recommend checking out The Big-O. It's one of my all-time favorite anime series. If Bruce Wayne had a giant mech instead of a batsuit, that's basically the show. Master builder Moko has recreated the mech from the series with stunning accuracy and detail (complete with Roger and Dorothy minifigs). I think it's time for a Big-O binge-watch.

Cerulean Chapel

Joseph Z.'s newest build jumps out at me as a very unique castle MOC. It does a masterful job of combining what it's easy to accept as the most common modern castle style (with the patchwork plate-filled brick walls, etc.) with its exact inverse, a totally clean and symmetrical style, like the striking stained-glass evenly spaced along the frame. I had the pleasure of seeing this build in person at Brickfair in Virginia last weekend, and I can vouch for the fact that it certainly looks great even without this crisp white background.

I'd Live There

On land we have rough, zig-zag, jagged rooftops of buildings all huddled together on a tight patch of rock.  Beyond that, calm, blue seas.  The colors are striking, the photography is clean, and I'm beginning to wonder why Oliver Lego doesn't work as an Apple photographer!  And for a "first try at miniscale format", I'd say that Oliver has hit a homerun!

Cole Blaqtron

Neo-Classic Space is arguably the oldest theme in which AFOLs have been building for all these years, and in just one build Cole Blaq has both mastered it and wildly subverted it. "High Jack" is one of the most unique NCS models I've seen in a while in terms of shape, with some clever part uses thrown in for good measure.

Tall Tower, Tall Trees

The LEGO Castle building community often gets accused of having too little innovation and lots of repetition, but builds like 'Sergeant Chipmunk''s Stonecreek Forest make me think otherwise. The most unique part of this build is, of course, the fantastic wall technique, using what looks like stacked 1x1 round tiles - looks great, but I can't imagine it would hold up well in a fight.