GOES-16

Here's a fun fact, I live just a few miles from Vandenberg Air Force Base and the 30th Space Wing, the west coast space launch center. When I was a kid there were launches all the time, mostly missile tests for the cold war (kinda chilling in retrospect) but also plenty of scientific launches. These days they're fewer and further between, but always a thrill. The GOES-16, depicted here with an excellent MOC by eldeeem, was launched in Florida though, so I didn't get to hear the engines roar and watch my windows shake, but I'm sure it was pretty awesome.

MOCstalgia - Holiday Edition

As the holidays approach us, we often reflect on events of the year.  Here at BrickNerd, we're taking a look at some classic past Christmas MOC's.

For this post, Chris McVeigh's popular "Brick Sketches" were chosen as a holiday blast from the past.  Check out these joyful characters!  Happy holidays to all, and all build on!

Oh Christmas Tree...

I for one am eternally grateful I haven't lost my child-like appreciation for Christmas. My immediate response to anyone that asks how old I am is "chronologically"? Not much makes me happier than sitting in my living room on Christmas morning with the fire going, my family around me, Christmas music on (or A Christmas Story) and the tree glowing softly with presents under it. Like this wonderful tree by builder wenyehng. And the knowledge that at least some of those presents under that tree were designed for someone decades younger than me gives me no small sense of pride. I'm a manchild, and it's my favorite day of the year.

Argh Me Hearties! Wait, Wrong Time Period...

Patrick Massey has put the finishing touches on a beautiful replica of a Viking warship!  I like that he chose to do the hull with dark brown instead of the typical brown we see in wooden structures.  The hull is well-shaped with the wonderful shields staggered on the side of the boat.  The crew of this ship will have a strong defence!  I think my favorite part of this ship is the dragon head on the bow.  It's one of the most accurate I have seen at this scale, and I noticed multiple different Viking ships in the past few months.  It would be super cool to see a whole fleet of this particular version!

Winter Is Here

As anticipation of the final season of Game of Thrones builds, I expect we'll see a few more GOT inspired MOCs. These two beautifully built micro scale castles from Legopard are inspired by the mechanical ones in the opening credits of the epic series. The hardest part of viewing them is not hearing the theme song, and that nagging thought that we're still months away.

A Breakout MOC

Yeah, low hanging fruit of a post title, sorry, I can't help myself sometimes and I haven't finished my tea yet. But gaming has been on my mind recently, with the missed opportunity for the Nintendo NES Classic, the gift of LEGO Dimensions and all the stuff my boys play. I'm an old school gamer, I remember when Breakout was a new game (old school? I mean just old). The thing that caught my eye on this nod to 8-bit from Vitreolum is the near perfect camera alignment and lack of distortion. It practically looks like artwork rather than bricks.

The Arkansas Chuggabug

Builder redfern1950s is back with another addition to his Wacky Racers project. This time it's the roarin' rednecks Lazy Luke and Blubber Bear in the Arkansas Chugabug. You wouldn't think an old fashioned wood burning stove would be an optimal power plant for a race car, and you'd be right. That thing blew up in practically every race.

It's All About That Base

The current ABS Builder Challenge has started and we're witnessing some fantastic builds so far! The ABS Challenge is a 2-week competition where 4 builders use a "seed piece", a specific LEGO element, that they must incorporate in all the of the creations for this competition. One of my favorites so far is Marcel V. "obligatory" flower! I know, I know, a flower is made at least once in every one of these rounds; but its not the flower, with the blue seed piece, that caught my eye...it was the stand! 

Nike Dunks

Recently I have started really getting into shoes. I'm no "wake up early to try to get Yeezy's online" gal but I have recently acquired a few of the Toy Story Vans; and my favorite pair of kicks with donuts on them! I love this little build by Aaron Newman of these Nike Dunks! Next goal: acquire LEGO shoes! 

Santa!

Christmas is less than two weeks away! I'm eagerly awaiting this guy's visit, although I have no idea how he's going to get my new Toyota Tacoma 4-door into his sleigh. Builder DOGOD Brick Design brings us this wonderful rendition of the world's jolliest old elf, and it's frankly one of the best brick-built Santas I've ever seen.

UPDATE: Not only is this a fantastic rendition of Santa, he's also got a little surprise in the back. He opens up to reveal a charming little scene of Santa enjoying some hot cocoa by the fireplace, brilliant!

It's All An Illusion (Or A Sham)

Towering over the city of Pyongyang in North Korea, the Ryugyong Hotel is a testament to ill-conceived ideas (that's a pun, trust me). While started in 1987, it was never finished. And despite the shiny glass exterior, it's basically just a glorified telecommunications tower. In fact, it's only shiny on one side, the side that faces their mortal enemies, South Korea. The other side is indicative to it's true nature, an abandoned building. Ryan McNaught built this as part of his Brickman Wonders of the World exhibit.

Expecto Patronum!

I'm still in this Harry Potter craze this month so of course when I saw Magma Guy's beautiful Stag, what did you think I thought of?? Patronuses of course! Pottermore told me my patronus is a Shark, but in the real life my patronus is a pterodactyl, I feel it bound to my soul. 

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

I've been in a very Harry Potter mood lately, perhaps because I recently watched Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them? So when I stumbled upon these creations of the four Hogwarts Common Rooms by Potter Brick I gushed at all the details! Check them out!

Warcraft-Mana Pool

How awesome is this?!?  The curves, the colors, the glowing liquid at the center...  Paul Trach has really outdone himself here, from the overall structural design to the multitude of intricate details.  There's lots to enjoy in this moc, so check out the close-up shots. 

"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.

Gladiatorial Combat

When I look at the state of the world these days and wonder if we've lost our collective minds, it's easy to forget we were never terribly bright to begin with. Tossing some guys in the middle of an arena and making them fight to death was considered rather good entertainment once. Or just a single guy, and maybe a tiger (who just wants to be left alone), that's some good fun right there. Well, it makes for a jaw-dropping MOC, that's for sure. This stunning scene was done for the MOCOlympics by W. Navarre.

The Southern Air Temple

I've never watched The Last Airbender, so I'm unfamiliar with the source for this model by Hacim Bricks. But I can still appreciate a great build without knowing the inspiration. The forced perspective going on here is extremely cool. I really like how the structures in the front are fully 3-D, but the ones towards the back are a lot flatter. This gives the whole build a real sense of depth, even though the builder says it's only 26 studs deep.

Piranha Plant

That mechanical mad genius JK Brickworks is back with another cool creation, and this one's from a video game classic, Mario Bros. Anyone that's played the game (and pretty much everyone else as well) is familiar with the Piranha Plant, those tube-dwelling, perpetually hungry pains in the butt. We've seen these before in LEGO, but this one's mechanical. Check out the video to see it in action and learn how it's done.

Winter Wonderland Bookends

Deborah Higdon is back with another lovely Christmas bookend collection.  You may recall last year's Twelve Days of Christmas build.  She's crafted all sorts of clever details throughout, and a special surprise within the books.  Although, personally, I might have gone with a Hoth scene instead...  Nicely done Deborah!

But Where's the Ninja?

The Classic Castle Contest is currently under way, and I'm loving it. Every couple days, there are several absolute gems that pop up in my feed. This peaceful Oriental bridge scene by 'LL' is one of my favorites so far. The bridge perfectly evokes classic Eastern architecture, and very cleverly uses the old rope bridge pieces for the arch. But what I like best about this build are those trees. The grey trunks compliment the fall leaves very nicely, and the addition of some roots really makes them look accurate.