Why O Why Did I Ever Leave My Hobbit-hole?

As some of you may know, theres a special place in my heart for micro builds and builder Paul Wolfe has really impressed with this tiny hobbit hole! Bilbo's little abode in Bag End has some fun details like the tree on top made with hair pieces and the chimney is quite clever too! 

Paul is thinking about making a vignette series of these and although it is quite the project to take on I would be most excited to see that adventure unfold! It would be quite the Unexpected Gathering of creations, don't you think? ;)

Micro Bag-End

BrickNerd LiveBuild - Batman Movie Clayface Splat Attack

Batman has many enemies, but none are quite so unusual as Clayface. I mean, how do you fight a guy made of clay? Well, come to think of it, bringing some water, a throwing wheel and a little patience might be an approach, but I digress.

Join me and Mrs BrickNerd as we build 70904 LEGO Batman Movie Clayface Splat Attack live! Building starts at 9am PST!

Amsterdam Tram

I had very limited exposure to trollies growing up, but always liked them. We would occasionally get up to San Francisco when I was a kid, and they had a few there, but they were long gone from Los Angeles before I was even born. These days I can sort of get my fix at Disneyland though, and always appreciate the approach of the Red Car (except when it's full of Newsies, man that show is annoying). But I would have loved to have ridden on this classic tram from Amsterdam. At least we can all appreciate this lovely MOC from builder KMbricklab, she's a beauty.

Amsterdam old tram_002

Porsche 919 Le Mans

This is speed, this is engineering, this is sexy. Builder Manuel Nascimento has built a Technic tribute to one of the fastest, sleekest and most famous race cars, the Porsche 919. It only takes a glance to see this was a labor of love, but it's in the details you see the true devotion. Click through for more pictures and check out the video.

919_6
919_5

ARES-3

Bob DeQuatre has been waiting to build this for quite a while now.  Exactly three years, in fact.  Designed on LDD, he's finally gotten around to building this ship in real bricks.  And it's certainly been worth the wait!  Gotta love the curves and the color scheme, complete with the massive blasters on each side.  And a couple of Classic Space logos thrown in for good measure.  Awesome!

ARES-3

ARES-3

Space Marine Helmet

This space marine helmet by builder timofey_tkachev looks right out of a movie or video game. The sleek black design looks intimidating, and not only does it have all the right aesthetics, it's wearable too. I assume it's an original design, but it feels familiar, almost imperial. While it doesn't necessarily look Star Warsy (is that an adjective?) you can definitely feel some of the DNA in it.

Space Marine 3

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Mizaru, covering his eyes, sees no evil. Kikazaru, covering his ears, hears no evil. And Iwazaru, covering his mouth,  speaks no evil. The three together are the wise monkeys, an ancient reminder of ethics and code of conduct, here depicted brilliantly by builder J.B.F. While the notion of being a wise monkey seems appealing, I would like to hesitantly propose the 4th monkey, "have no fun".

Three wise monkeys

Vengeful Spirit

I really dig this ship design by Tim C76, it looks like a mashup of angular Imperial design and classic NASA, with a touch of rebel spirit. But based on the name I'm guessing it's not transporting colonists or doing research. The contrast of the white cladding against the greebly goodness is visually appealing (but must have made it hard to photograph). Regardless I want to rig it, light it, do a motion control pass and put this baby in a movie!

Vengeful Spirit

The Last Of Us

I hope you have some time on your hands, because I have a little eye candy for you. Actually it's a lot of eye candy, like a full game level of eye candy, in this intensely detailed and jaw-dropping diorama by builder Tim Schwalfenberg. It's inspired by the video game The Last of Us, and like the game it's an absolute work of dystopian art. Click through for many more pictures, and make yourself comfortable, you have some gawking to do.

The Last of Us: Streetview
The Last of Us: Interior 1
The Last of Us

*Boop Boop Boop, Weeoo Weeoo Weeoo, Wop Wop Wop*

I was totally a kid of the 70's and 80's, I saw the rise of the video game and the subsequent decline of pinball. And like an entire generation of kids, none of us ever had a quarter in our pocket that wasn't itching to be converted to a few minutes of pixelated fun. Now you can recreate this bygone era with Chris McVeigh's charming little modular arcade. You can get instructions and full kits at his website chrismcveigh.com

Modular Arcade

Exterminator

Pest problems? No Problem! Just call A-1 Pest Services and we'll send over one of our trained technicians to take care of you. We specialize in draknort infestations, ploopknit problems, flindershiver nests and homnibble dens. Ask about or 20% discount for non gravity dwellings and our special this month on shelter fumigations. That's A-1, for all your extermination needs!

The Exterminator

The Compact Pussycat

Builder redfern1950s' quest to complete all of the Wacky Racers is nearly complete. I will confess Penelope Pitstop was never a favorite of mine, far too girly for me. Her classic "southern bell" ways and beauty supplied car gizmos were just irritating to 7 year old me. And of course she's the one that got her own spinoff cartoon, I would have much rather watched the antics of the gruesome twosome.

Wacky Races " The Compact Pussycat "

U-Wing Starfighter

The U-Wing is an exciting addition to the fleet of Star Wars. I will admit when I first saw it in the trailer for Rogue One my first thought was "uh oh, a new ship, this is going to get fan boys' panties in a twist." And of course soon after I starting seeing comments like "how come we don't see those in episode 4?" I don't know if it's a legitimate complaint, I don't want to take a position on it. I think it's a cool ship, and I enjoyed seeing it in action in the movie. So did builder JBIronWorks, who crafted this brilliant minifigure scale one that puts the official set to shame.

UT-60D U-Wing on Yavin 4
UT-60D U-Wing S-foils open

Builder Showcase - Cesar Soares

Builder Showcase - Cesar Soares

Every once in a while I'll scroll back through a builders photostream on Flickr and realize just how many of their builds have been featured on BrickNerd. Naturally, at that point I realize I'm a big fan of their work, and it's about time they were featured in Builder Showcase. This time around it's LEGO designer Cesar "Cesbrick" Soares. While Cesar gets to design the sets we love for a living, that hasn't stopped his passion for building in his free time, and his creations are always jaw-dropping.

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Rockin' In Wonderland

Talk about eye catching. This musical scene from Alice in Wonderland is as much about the photography as it is the build. Julius von Brunk brings us this colorful and whimsical scene, showing Alice, Hatter, March Hare and the White Rabbit absolutely rocking. The shot was accomplished with the clever use of multicolor party spotlights, a great effect expertly done.

Rainbow in the Dark