This evocative hands sculpture by builder timofey_tkachev made me catch my breath. I actually got goosebumps when I first viewed it. Perhaps it's the lifetime of making that has instilled a reverence for hands, my own included. They are my life, my livelihood, my tools. The pose, fluidity, lighting and construction of this MOC is awe inspiring.
BrickNerd's very own Nick Sweetman spends a little time every holiday season to make some scenes worthy of Christmas cards (in fact, they become cards courtesy of RedBubble). And with Christmas less than a week away, carols in the background and a chill in the air, I'm feeling pretty darn ready for Santa to visit, and these scenes just add to the cheer and excitement. C'mon December 25th!
Can you imagine yourself on a futuristic battlefield, adrenaline pumping after a small exchange with an enemy mech and exhausted from a long war, just to see this thing bearing down on you? Obviously with insanely superior firepower and size advantage, camouflage is completely optional. In fact this one by Moko says "Hey guys! Check me out! I'm coming to destroy you now!"
The color palette on this castle diorama by builder ZCerberus is a little misleading. The warm, inviting colors of an almost fall-like setting draw you in, welcoming you. Then you take a closer look and realize this is not a friendly place, not friendly at all. The decrepit aging of the castle is really well done, with what looks like centuries of retrofits and kludged repairs. And I don't know what's going on in the water there, but I don't recommend fishing.
There is so much in the Star Wars universe that we don't know. Battles, vehicles, characters, abilities, and weapons are just a few pieces of the unknown portion of the story. In this beautifully depicted model, Sanellukovic represented a crashed Lambda-class T-4a Imperial Shuttle that is being swallowed by the terrain of this forest moon (or planet). Even though the craft is partially destroyed, it's still recognizable as the iconic vessel used by many high-ranking members of the Galactic Empire. There are so many unanswered questions through this single photograph. What happened to the crew? Why did this ship crash? This is a Star Wars MOC that I'd like to see a short story written about in the future. Lucasfilm? Hello???
I'll probably lose a little nerd cred for this, but I'm not a Starship Troopers fan. I found it silly and tedious. It's too hard to take the characters seriously despite the challenge placed before them, and I just wasn't buying Doogie Howser as a Colonel. I should probably give it another view, it's been years, maybe I'll see something I didn't see before. I will say the visual effects were outstanding though, and I dig the ship designs. Like this version of the Roger Young by builder Riskjockey. You can practically hear the rumble of the engines.
Capturing the human form in any artistic medium is always a challenge. But Grantmasters has done just that with these two armed foes. Their poses, right out of a martial arts movie, convey the tension before a sudden burst of controlled fury, most likely accompanied by a taunt about the opponent's questionable parentage. Dubbed into English, of course.
This is fun. When someone says "Christmas" you may not be inclined to think of Harry Potter immediately. But the holiday has featured pretty prominently in the books (c'mon, the invisibility cloak was pretty much the best present ever), so why not a little reminder on the tree? Builder rolli has assembled these absolutely charming miniature scenes from throughout the series. There's a key in the description on Flickr, but I'd recommend puzzling them out first, they're SO good!
Builder Legopard is back with a couple more offerings inspired by the opening titles of Game of Thrones. First up is Castle Black, home of the Night's Watch, defenders of the wall. They've been guarding the north so long they barely remember what they're guarding it from. And next is King's Landing, where you go to sit on the most powerful throne in Westeros, and probably get killed shortly after.
....But the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, build LEGO! Build LEGO! Build LEGO! Maybe build a nice holiday-themed diorama, like this one by Firas Abu-Jaber. He's known best for his cars, but I've got a soft spot for LEGO penguins and the one he built here is just adorable.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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